Since moving to the lead #8 Brad Jones Racing car, Andre Heimgartner is thriving in his new environment and Darwin was the latest example.
The Darwin Triple Crown was Heimgartner’s equal most successful weekend in terms of silverware at the Albury team, taking back to back podium places on Sunday.
The Kiwi finished third in Race 14 after holding off Brodie Kostecki for the final step on the podium and went one better in the next race.
Starting from the front row, Heimgartner was the only driver to pose a threat to Jack Le Brocq in the final race.
He crossed the line just 1.5s away from P1 to cap off a strong campaign which saw him
The only other weekend comparable during Heimgartmer’s BJR stint was Pukekohe last year where he also finished second and third, plus a P6.
Andre Heimgartner celebrates his second place in the third and final race in Darwin.
On this occasion Heimgartner started the weekend on the back foot in 16th, but made a big gain overnight to be one of the fastest cars come Sunday.
Reflecting on the day, the one-time race winner was thrilled the team could maximise its package.
“We had some consistency and good speed in the qualifying, which really set up the day and we maximised what we had,” Heimgartner said.
“It is pretty good when you can get two podiums.
“We lacked a little bit of outright speed initially in the last race which meant we couldn’t fight 100 percent for the win, but we’re putting pressure on and did what we could but an awesome weekend overall.”
Andre Heimgartner celebrates some silverware at Pukekohe. Photo by Mark Horsburgh / LAT Images
Having also stood on the rostrum at the Australian Grand Prix and Tasmania SuperSprint events, Heimgartner has already equalled the most number of podiums he has scored in a single season.
Last year he took 29 races to achieve a quartet of podiums, while with Gen3 machinery he needed 15.
Now in his second stint in Brad Jones Racing colours, Heimgartner said he is thriving in the intimate team environment.
“I am happy with where I am. It is a low stress environment,” he said.
“I am also really happy with Tony (Woodward) my engineer and all the guys on my car. We are just enjoying racing.
“Anytime you get trophies helps as well but I am loving the environment.”
Andre Heimgartner drove a clean all weekend to collect another podium finish. Image: Mark Horsburgh
Heimgartner has also won the heart of team owner Brad Jones, who has been thrilled with how the Kiwi has stepped up after filling the hole left by the consistent Nick Percat.
“I was thinking on the plane that it was two years since Nick and I started to discuss leaving the team and we started talking to Andre,” he recalled.
“Andre has been a great team leader. We have a young driver group and they are all making great progress.
“He fits in really well and I could not ask for a better leader.
“This has been a really good weekend for us after a tough one at Tasmania and to have Andre come away with two podiums has been fantastic.”
Heimgarter hopes to let the good times roll at Townsville on July 7-9.
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