Young gun's warning for co-drivers in thick of Finals tension

The added element of Finals pressure throws a giant curveball into the plans of co-drivers in this year's Ryco Enduro Cup.

Whilst those at the top and tail of the field won't be feeling the heat, those in the danger zone from seventh to 15th will have an eye eagerly trained on the live points score throughout both enduros at The Bend and Bathurst.

Young gun Brad Vaughan is one of those co-drivers in that zone, teaming up with Bryce Fullwood in the Brad Jones Racing #14 Camaro that is currently 181 points outside the bubble in 14th position.

However, the 21-year-old declared that he isn't under pressure or added expectation with a potential Finals berth on the line, telling Supercars.com: "I'm sure there's a little bit of pressure, I don't think about it too much.

"My job is just to bring the car back clean, and usually the main drivers run the last stint, so give the car back to him clean and in a good position and he can do the rest.

"For his sake I hope that he gets in the championship fight, it would be good for two BJR cars to get in the 10, I think it would be a huge result for BJR for The Finals this year."

BJR currently have spearhead Andre Heimgartner locked into a provisional Finals berth heading into the enduros, with the Kiwi currently eighth in the standings, though only 41 points clear of the cutoff line.

Come Bathurst, Vaughan expects the pressure to be sky-high on those battling to make a last-ditch play into The Finals: "Maybe not for Tailem Bend, but definitely for Bathurst. If you're position 10 or position 11 you will not want to DNF because you'll be out of the chance.

"For those drivers right on the bubble, for sure there's that extra bit of pressure that's in the back of your mind. You've gotta think about that rather than going hell for leather all day.

"The teams are good at managing that, the engineers and everyone involved will remind the drivers regularly about what the situation is."

Vaughan moved to BJR from Tickford's Super2 program for the 2025 season, and has been a quiet achiever in the season so far, scoring a pole last time out in Ipswich, and two race podiums for the season to currently sit ninth in the standings.

It's the 2022 Super3 champion's second enduro campaign, having debuted in Matt Chahda Motorsport's wildcard Camaro in last year's long-distance races.

The South Australian harbours main game aspirations, and amid a silly season that has seen BJR become a major player, he has stated his intentions to make a claim for a 2026 Supercars seat in the upcoming enduros: "You're always auditioning whether it's Super2 or co-driving. The goal has always been to get to the main game.

"My goal is to get there next year, obviously it's easy to say that, but a good enduro campaign would certainly help that."

On track action at The Bend begins on Friday. Tickets are on sale now.