'Head down, bum up': Hazelwood's epic Townsville run

The Townsville doubleheader marked an upturn in form and luck for Todd Hazelwood, who was a standout at Reid Park.

Hazelwood arrived in Townsville 18th in the points, having recorded just two top 10s in the first 14 races.

If not for a power steering drama in the NTI Townsville opener, he would have finished all five races in the top 10.

The Brad Jones Racing driver finished the second 250km race seventh, and carried his form into the second event.

There, he scored finishes of ninth, fifth and fourth to spark life into his 2021 campaign.

His Race 19 performance, while obvious from the result, was his best; Hazelwood gained a spot on the opening lap and pitted from second on the road when the Safety Car was deployed.

He grabbed a place on the restart, and held off Anton De Pasquale to claim his best result since his Sydney podium last July.

"We had a great start in race one and then it was head down, bum up, and we kept it clean and played it smart," he said.

"I was really pleased with the result. In the second race I tried to make the most of the opportunity and prove to everyone I can get the job done properly.

"I was fighting a little bit of power steering inconsistency, it was getting heavy in the corners but we kept cracking on and gave it everything.

"I'm really happy with the result and thanks to everyone at tools.com.”

Hazelwood’s Race 19 result was the best of the weekend for the BJR quartet, with lead driver Nick Percat 10th in the finale.

It came after he was tipped into a spin in the day’s earlier race, but recovered to finish 15th.

"Frustrating day to be honest,” said Percat, who is eighth in the standings.

"We didn’t qualify well today so I was starting mid pack for both races which is not where we should be.

"Getting turned on lap one in the first race one wasn’t ideal but that’s what you get caught up in when you start down there.

"We made some solid ground in the second race finishing P8. Bit of a break now so we’ll work hard over the next few weeks to make sure we come back strong at Ipswich.

"Thanks to everyone that came out to support us over the two weekends."