Evans' 30,000km round trip for test
Jaxon Evans completing busy schedule
BJR rookie has already been on 38 flights in 2024
Evans to tackle Spa 24 after Darwin Supercars round
Brad Jones Racing rookie Jaxon Evans is racking up plenty of frequent flyer points in the gaps between Supercars events.
The 27-year-old headed to Belgium after the most recent round in Perth, returning to Australia for a breather before completing a rookie test, before racing at The Bend.
Evans moved to Australia at the start of last year to embark on a Supercars career, but has been making frequent trips around the world.
Already, Evans has been on 38 plane trips this year, and has had a jam-packed eight weeks since racing his BJR Supercar in Melbourne, following his recovery from foot burns.
Despite needing to make a 30,000km round trip to take part in the Spa Prologue, Evans was enjoying the extra time behind the wheel.
“You have to set yourself up for to not get tired, basically,” Evans told Supercars.com.
"I did so much flying last year — I did 90 flights, and 44 of them were long haul. So, I've gotten pretty good at what I need to do to combat jet lag.
"I just sort of try and adjust to the time zones as soon as I land, and then if you're a bit tired, sleep when you're tired, but don’t fall into the old habit of just having a proper sleep when it's probably not the appropriate time.
“Then you just sort of delay that whole sequence of getting back on track and lining yourself up with the time zone that you're in.”
In April, Evans tested a Porsche in Malaysia, tested and raced his GT World Challenge Australia Ferrari at Phillip Island, cut promotional laps at Taupō, completed a Supercars rookie test, and returned to Taupō for the Supercars round.
Following Taupō, where he claimed his first Supercars top 10, Evans was called up for the GT World Challenge Asia round in Thailand on May 11-12, before racing at the Perth SuperSprint on May 17-19.
Just hours after the Perth finale, Evans jetted off to Brussels — a 14,000km trip — before completing a two-day Prologue test at Spa-Francorchamps with Phantom Global Racing.
The New Zealander then knocked over another 16,000km flight back to his Gold Coast home before heading to Queensland Raceway for another rookie test with BJR on May 28.
Then, Evans had to adjust again, this time for the second GT World Challenge Australia round at The Bend, where he scored two podiums in as many days with co-driver Elliott Schute.
"Sunday night I flew out of Perth, around 10 o'clock on Sunday night, and anded Monday afternoon in Brussels,” he added.
“I tested at Spa on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then flew out Thursday morning. And then there was the QR test as well.
"I won’t lie, I was a bit tired at the rookie test. The boys thought I looked a bit ruined! The body's still trying to adjust to whatever time zone I actually settled in for a bit."
Evans now has a well-earned week at home before he readies for Darwin, which could kick off another string of events should the Kiwi land another GT World Challenge Asia cameo in Japan on June 22-23.
The Japan race will be followed by the Spa 24 Hour on June 26-30, which falls a week before the NTI Townsville 500 on July 5-7.
“It'll be nice to have a week at home,” Evans said.
“But I’m still in limbo if I head directly to Japan from Darwin for the next round at Fuji. Then, it'd obviously be Fuji to Spa for the 24 Hour, and then straight to Townsville. I may not see my own bed for a couple of weeks again.
"But I’m excited to get to Darwin, I did the Carrera Cup rounds there in 2017 and 2018. It was actually the first place I won a Carrera Cup race in ’17.
"It's obviously going to be different than a Supercar. It's been a few years in between visits, but I quite enjoy the circuit.”
The betr Darwin Triple Crown will be held on June 14-16. Tickets for the event are on sale now. International viewers can follow all the action on Superview.
