STEWART HAD TOP 10 SPEED BUT COULDN’T CONVERT IN RACES

HALF PRICE PARTS MEDIA DRIVER – Madeline Stewart  – Photo: Velocity Magazine (John Morris)

BJR’s Madeline Stewart came through a baptism of fire intact after a difficult round for many competitors at the WD 40 Phillip Island Supersprint. Over the course of the weekend, Stewart encountered an airborne Falcon, safety car restarts and errant competitors as she came to terms with a V8 Supercar in her circuit racing debut. A 16th place in the third and final race gave Stewart her best result across a weekend in which the 18 year old New Zealander hovered around the top 10 for outright pace.

“Frustrating,” was how Madeline summed up the weekend. “I felt like my driving is improving but a couple of incidents mean my results do not reflect where I’m at. I had top 10 pace all weekend but didn’t quite string it all together, I just have to work on all of the other aspects to get a good result.”

Stewart built on her 18th place finish in race 1 and moved into 14th during the early stages of race 2. A three car collision on the main straight brought out a full course caution and introduced Madeline to her first experience of a safety car intervention.

I managed to make my way up to 13th before the safety car came out, Stewart explained. “That was another new experience for me. I got on the radio and said “what do I do now?” So my engineer Andrew talked me through it. The restart went pretty well and I managed to keep my position.

Stewart continued to move closer to the top 10 as the race progressed, only to drop to the tail end of the field when she locked up the rear of the Freightliner/ Alliance Truck Parts BJR Commodore to avoid race 1 winner Broc Feeney who braked suddenly on the run to Honda Corner. Madeline did a remarkable job to miss Feeney and worked her way back to  19th by the chequered flag.

“Going into turn 4 the car in front slowed faster than I was expecting and I locked my rears and spun,” Stewart said. “By the time I recovered I was in last and quite far off the back of the pack. I managed to catch back up and pass 2 cars and got to a third before the chequered flag came out.”

Madeline Stewart continued to reap the reward of the three race format and made an excellent start in the final race of the weekend. From 19th on the grid, Stewart made forward progress until baulked by a spinning car immediately ahead.

“I got a good start and managed to make some passes to move forward until the car I was chasing spun in front of me. I had to take to the grass to avoid hitting it,” Madeline stated. “A couple of cars I passed got back in front of me so I had to do it all again. I finished 16th which ended up being my best result of the weekend.”

SEE OUR PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE PHILLIP ISLAND SUPERSPRINT HERE

Madeline Stewart finished the weekend with many positives and the performance to prove that she will be a driver to watch over the course of  the season. She brought the Freightliner/ Alliance Truck Parts Commodore back to the garage in pristine condition after each race, a feat few of the other drivers in the 23 car field were able to achieve. It was a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by BJR team owner, Brad Jones.

“Madeline did a great job, especially for her first time out in a racecar,” Jones said. “She has an excellent head on such young shoulders and she will learn a great deal from that first experience. I am very happy with what she has done so far.”

The Super3 Championship heads to Winton with the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship for their second round from the 24th – 26th May 2019.

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