FAST FACTS WITH JACK LE BROCQ AND TEKNO

Jack Le Brocq Superloop Adelaide 500 Truck Assist TEKNO Racing Notes – photo: supplied

Le Brocq made his TEKNO debut at the Adelaide 500 12 months ago, commencing his first full season in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, previously in the Super2 Series Le Brocq had a string of four straight Adelaide podium finishes between 2016-’17 and made his Super2 debut in 2014. His first visit to the Adelaide Parklands was in 2011 in the Australian Formula Ford Championship.

On Phillip Island pre-season testing

“We got through what we needed to, we didn’t do a whole lot of tuning on the day, the track was actually quite dirty, with a lot of the in-fill (from the side of the track) at turn one, the Hayshed and turn 11 being brought onto the circuit and spread around.

“So that made it hard for tuning, because every time you went onto the track it was different.

“We had a good chance to play with the new gearbox, and we were also able to make sure I am speaking the same language with my new engineer (Tim Newton), but it wasn’t a huge day for us.”

On the new Xtrac transmission

“I like it, it’s quite smooth and quite nice, and even going down through the gears it’s quite good with how the rear wheels react to it, if you have a little mistime with the change, the rear wheels actually catch up quite nicely, so there is a little bit less rear chatter.

“It’s a good thing, I like it, we just have to see how it goes over a longer race, but I don’t think anyone has had any dramas with it yet.”

There’s a new format for Adelaide this year with Thursday running, are you looking forward to getting into the car a day sooner?

“Yeah, it’s going to be cool!

“Last year Thursday in Adelaide proved to be quite the long wait, so it’s good to have the extra session thrown in there, even if it is just half an hour, it’s a good chance to get in and suss out where the car is at and what you need for the rest of the weekend.

“Importantly, it gives you an extra 12 hours to work on the car and with the engineers before the second session.

“I’m sure everyone is going to enjoy it and make the most of it.”

…and obviously the twilight portion of the schedule, looking straight into the setting sun.

“It’s going to be interesting out of turn three actually, it’s going to be really bad on the run up Wakefield Street to turn four.

“Going up the rise in the road, you’re pointed directly at where the sun is setting, so that will be interesting trying to pick your brake markers.

“But it should be cool, something different, another curve ball thrown into the mix.”

The debut of the Mustang, what do you think of it?

“It’s great to have it in the mix, I think.

“Last year when the ZB Commodore debuted there as a bit of chat about aerodynamics, but now with the Mustang coming online, and the update to the Nissan, everyone has had an opportunity to build the best possible car.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how it goes when they go to swing the driver’s door open at Sandown during the pit stops, with the length of the driver’s door, hopefully it doesn’t take out their pit boom!

“But it’s great to have some new models out there, it really adds another dimension to the competition, which can only be a positive.”

On returning to the same car this season…

“This year is the first time in my career that I’ve driven the same car for two years in a row, so that takes a lot of the unknowns out of the season.

“From what I learned last year, there is a specific style to drive the Triple 8 built car, but it is very fast when you make it work.

“Hopefully with all that we took in last year, we can hit the ground running in Adelaide.

On his 2018 debut in Adelaide-

“It’s a very tough weekend, Adelaide is a very physical circuit, which takes a lot out of you.

“The heat is pretty extreme… for me, 2018 was a long old weekend, I pulled up pretty sore on Monday, which I kind of expected from what everyone was telling me in the lead up.

“I got through it, but I’m looking forward to going back a second time a bit more prepared, with a season under my belt, hopefully my body is more used to the strains of driving in those conditions.

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