Supercars rookie Todd Hazelwood has admitted he was left disappointed with his results in the WD-40 Phillip Island 500.
The Matt Stone Racing Falcon driver ended the weekend with finishes of 23rd in Race 9 and 24th in Race 10, a disappointing outcome after a positive Friday for the team.
“It was a really tough weekend for the team and I at Bigmate Racing, we had some promising moments but overall we didn’t get a result which was really disappointing,” Hazelwood said.
“The whole weekend we were riding a roller coaster of speed and emotions, Friday started out super positive and really felt we had a competitive package to fight for a good result.
“Wes (McDougall, Hazelwood’s engineer) and I have already had a good chat and feel we are really starting to understand this new chassis.”
Hazelwood had been 17th fastest in Friday’s combined session results, half a second faster than eventual double-podium finisher Rick Kelly.
He then slipped backwards in Armor All Qualifying for Race 9 to 22nd, and on Sunday could only manage 24th in the 20-minute qualifying session.
“I looked after the tyres and the team provided a great strategy, but we just simply went backwards all race,” Hazelwood said of Saturday’s race.
During Sunday’s race he ran as high as 18th in the opening stages, before his race was compromised by contact.
It left the 22-year-old carrying damage throughout the second half of the race, which saw him finish as the last classified finisher.
“It was tough going in the middle of the race, getting pushed around and hit left right and centre… the car took a few hits and we fell to the back of the pack, which was super frustrating,” he explained.
“With a bent and damaged car, we surprisingly had a really good final stint to the race, but unfortunately we were too far behind the pack to capitalise on our speed.
“It’s painful for everyone involved not getting the desired results but hopefully sooner rather than later it will come together.”
Hazelwood currently sits 23rd in the championship standings, and third of the five rookies in 2018.
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