Andre Heimgartner heads into Round 2 of his time as Brad Jones Racing’s spearhead driver having already made a significant impression on his team boss.
Heimgartner had a brief stint with BJR during the 2017 Pirtek Enduro Cup, partnering Tim Slade for a standout podium result on the streets of the Gold Coast.
After four years away at Kelly Racing where he became a Supercars Championship race winner and pole-sitter, Heimgartner has been entrusted with the responsibility of steering the lead #8 R&J Batteries entry.
It took him just one event to chalk up a top five finish in his new colours, in Race 2 at Sydney Motorsport Park earlier this month.
Prompted with the names of former BJR aces Fabian Coulthard, Tim Slade, and Nick Percat, and how Heimgartner stacks up with them, Brad Jones gave a glowing endorsement.
“He’s very calm out of the car and I feel like the fundamental ingredient is speed, which he has got,” Jones told Speedcafe.com.
“Each of those individuals that you talk about are all different, all have different strengths and weaknesses.
“We’re only one race weekend in but so far Andre has been great.
“He is interested in bringing the whole group up to a level, he is engaging, and he is calm.”
Round 1 as a whole did plenty to settle Jones’ nerves about how 2022 might play out after an off-season with more change than normal for the Albury outfit.
“It was a little bit nerve-wracking going into the first race, being curious about how it would all go, but I feel like the test went well and honestly I think the first race meeting went really, really well,” he added.
“Andre and Bryce [Fullwood] really fit in well with the team. Phil [Keed, engineer], it feels like he has fitted straight back into the group. Results I think speak for themselves.
“We’re definitely competitive; a couple of things being different I thought there was a chance Andre might end up on the podium, so I certainly was very happy with the outcome.
“It’s early days, we have still got to learn about each other a lot more, but I thought it was a really good start.”
Symmons Plains, the site of Round 2 action this weekend, has not been a happy hunting ground of late for BJR, with the team’s last Tasmanian podium coming in 2014 courtesy of Coulthard.
Practice 1 for the Repco Supercars Championship at the Ned Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint kicks off tomorrow at 09:50 local time/AEDT.
