Roland Dane has singled out the driver whom he believes Supercars teams should sign up with an eye to the future.
In this afternoon’s Roland’s View, the former Triple Eight Race Engineering Team Principal calls for more young blood in the Repco Supercars Championship, and outlines how teams should go about future-proofing themselves in the driver market.
Dane also identifies the youngster who deserves a deal yet apparently does not have one.
That driver is Jayden Ojeda.
Ojeda has otherwise flown under the radar since co-driving with Todd Hazelwood in a Truck Assist Racing entry at last year’s Repco Bathurst 1000.
The Western Sydneysider was to have also contested the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour in the following February, but had to drop out of the event when M Motorsport exited the Invitational class due to a switch to a spare car.
Dane thinks he should be racing again at Bathurst, in this October’s 1000km Supercars enduro, and more.
“There’s one driver sitting on the sidelines who, to the best of my knowledge, doesn’t yet have an Enduro seat locked in, let alone a 2024 seat. That’s Jayden Ojeda,” he wrote in his Roland’s View column.
“If I was still active in team land and with a potential vacancy for 2024, I’d have him under option at the very least today.”
Ojeda made a name for himself as the 2018 Australian Formula 4 Champion and would finish runner-up in the following year’s Super3 Series with Anderson Motorsport.
Two years in the Dunlop Super2 Series in an MW Motorsport Nissan Altima followed, with results of fourth in the 2020 series and third in 2021.
Ironically, what would have been a maiden Super2 race win, at Townsville in 2021, was overturned when officials corrected the backdating of results after the contest ended under red flag, and Triple Eight’s Broc Feeney was declared the victor.
Feneey is now a full-time Supercars Championship driver in one of the Red Bull Ampol Racing Camaros, after both he and Ojeda made their debuts in the Great Race of 2020.
The latter’s 19th that year in a Garry Rogers Motorsport wildcard entry remains his best Bathurst 1000 result to date, although he finished as high as 17th in races at Winton and Hidden Valley as a Walkinshaw Andretti United wildcard last year.
CLICK HERE to read this week’s Roland’s View column in full.
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