The quiet achiever who turned qualifying disaster into gold
Andre Heimgartner jumped from 17th to sixth in Gold Coast finale
Heimgartner crashed in Sunday qualifying, only 17th after returning
BJR driver moved to 10th in the championship with dual top 10s
On Sunday morning, Andre Heimgartner sat dejected in his car, his Brad Jones Racing Chevrolet wedged in the Turn 12 tyre barriers.
By day’s end, the New Zealander had pulled off a superb recovery to sixth, having started the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 finale from 17th.
It was a much-needed boost for driver and team, with Heimgartner moving into the top 10 in the championship thanks to his second top 10 of the weekend.
Prior to the Gold Coast, Heimgartner pieced together a weekend of two top 10s since his triumphant Taupō weekend in April.
Starting 17th, Heimgartner had it all do, and his luck seemed to turn when he managed to avoid damage in the multi-car accident at Turn 11 on the first lap.
Heimgartner took the restart in 12th, and rejoined effective 10th behind eventual fourth-placed finisher Cam Waters after the first round of pit stops.
After his second stop, Heimgartner was a net seventh, which became sixth after the chequered flag after Jack Le Brocq was slapped with a time penalty.
Speaking after the race, Heimgartner praised Race Engineer Tony Woodward, saying the results were a “bit of a boost” looking to Adelaide and 2025.
“Really solid weekend in the end. I think from when we rolled out the car was pretty speedy and the two qualifyings, we didn't quite get it together,” the Kiwi said.
"Had a really good strategy and really good race pace. I managed to climb my way back into good positions each time. Over the moon with how it's turned out.
"I think it’s really what we needed towards the end of the season. A bit of a boost going into next year and onto Adelaide.
"Really really happy with the crew and how me and Tony worked together so I feel like we got a bit of a pep back in our step.
"Looking forward to continuing the momentum going into Adelaide and hopefully push further.”
Heimgartner’s efforts pushed the BJR crew, along with Bryce Fullwood, closer to movement in the teams’ championship. BJR is 234 points behind fifth-placed DJR with 576 points to win in Adelaide.
