Jayden Ojeda will take no further part in the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour after his team was forced into a car change.
M Motorsport was fielding the event’s sole KTM X-Bow but an engine failure led to the squad sourcing a spare Audi GT3 from Melbourne Performance Centre, the Ingolstadt marque’s local outpost.
However, with the X-Bow being an Invitational entry, the switch has also necessitated a change of class, to Silver.
Problematically, however, the original driving crew does not fit the Silver class which, in the case of a four-driver combination, is for no more than two Silver drivers and at least two Bronze drivers.
Ojeda, Trent Harrison, and Glen Wood are Silver drivers per the FIA’s rankings, while David Crampton is Bronze.
That being the case, there is no class in the Bathurst 12 Hour’s sporting regulations other than Invitational which could have kept the quartet intact, and hence the former Super2 driver opted to sit out the balance of the event.
“Experiencing all of the highs & lows of motorsport today!” he wrote on Facebook.
“Engine blew in the KTM during practice 2 and with no spare it looked like our weekend had finished.
“We were able to secure an Audi GT3 car to use for the weekend!
“That meant a change in class which meant that our driver line up couldn’t drive together due to our driver rankings being too high.
“With the other boys being OG’s and having driven together for years I will sit this weekend out.
“Disappointing but some things are out of your control, I’ll still be here supporting the crew and hopefully they can bring home a strong result.”
Harrison drove what is now a #50 Audi R8 LMS evo II in Practice 4, and would be classified 21st for the session.