Tickford, BJR finishing chassis swaps

Tickford Racing and Brad Jones Racing are nearing completion of chassis swaps for Sandown.

Thomas Randle and Andre Heimgartner will race spare chassis at next week’s event.

Just nine days ago, Randle and Heimgartner suffered a major start-line accident at the OTR SuperSprint.

Heimgartner careened into the stalled Randle, with both drivers hospitalised after the 38g impact.

Both drivers have since been cleared of injury and will race next weekend.

A Tickford spokesperson told Supercars.com that the team is putting the finishing touches on its spare car.

Randle will race in the chassis Zak Best raced at The Bend.

Barring a seat swap, it’s essentially a straight swap, with the #55 already on the windscreen of the spare car.

Tickford has hopes to recover the damaged car, which is at the fabrication shop being cut up.

Tickford’s situation is comparable to that of when Chaz Mostert crashed on the Gold Coast in 2019.

Mostert suffered a major crash in the Gold Coast Shootout; the car was initially labelled a write-off.

However, Tickford salvaged the car and it returned in the hands of Jack Le Brocq, who won in Sydney.

It’s a vastly different set of circumstances at BJR, with BJR 012 never to see a race track again.

Damage to the hoop has ensured the car will "definitely" never race again.

That hasn’t slowed BJR, with the team working around the clock to ready a spare chassis.

Jones told Supercars.com that the engine is already in the spare car, BJR 007.

BJR 007 has race-winning pedigree, with Tim Slade scoring a Winton clean sweep in the car in 2016.

Jones suggested BJR 012 may have life in it yet should the team have spare time to work on it.

However, he said the focus is currently on preparing a new car for Heimgartner.

"We’re making really good progress with it," Jones said of the spare chassis.

"It’s now about all the little things really, like suspension. It’s going really well.

"Everything’s repairable, but it’s a lot of work. It’s not on our radar at the moment.

"In its current guise, 012 is toast. We’re focused on turning 007 into Andre’s car."

The 2022 season will resume at Sandown on August 19-21. Purchase your tickets now.