Jack’s chat: Looking back on 2016

From my perspective, Homebush couldn’t have gone much better … the GoGetta PRA was the fastest car in the house all weekend, and we led every lap of both races.

Had it not been for a broken shocker during qualifying for Race 2, which meant I had to qualify on a totally different spring and shocker package in the right rear, we would have had pole for both races too.

So it was the dominant weekend I wanted, to finish off the year.

It’s been a fantastic season and I’m delighted to have won significantly more races than anyone else in the Dunlop Series, including three clean sweeps in Perth, Townsville and at Homebush.

And to have won the Pole Award for the best qualifying performance of the series is icing on the cake, as they say.

That’s testimony to the hard work of the PRA crew … I can never repay them for working an all nighter at Sandown to repair the GoGetta Falcon, after my mistake in the first race put me back in the pack and into someone else’s accident.

Given how badly damaged the car was, I am still amazed the boys could fix it at all. Thanks guys.

Unfortunately that mistake was the turning point of our championship … getting no points from that second Sandown race and then losing out under the safety car at Bathurst, killed our chances.

That’s racing and while I’m disappointed, it is what it is … lessons have been learned and, at the end of the day, the GoGetta Falcon has the car to beat since Perth.

One of the great things about 2016 has been that, along with the Dunlop Series, I’ve been immersed at PRA throughout the season learning from the main game guys, doing the Enduro Cup with Cam and absorbing all that I could.

It’s been a fantastic experience and made me hungrier than ever to make that final step to the main game.

So of course the question I got asked the most at Homebush was, what am I doing next year?

The answer is that I can’t tell you … yet!

I am very pleased to say we have something locked away … it’s a big program and very exciting, with lots of different aspects to it, and some of those will surprise a few people.

No more clues … there’s lots of speculation already but no-one has figured out the scope of what we are doing yet.

Tell you more in January!

Thanks everyone for your support this year … have a safe and enjoyable festive season.

Jack