Why Heimgartner couldn't resist chance to sledge Waters
Andre Heimgartner says he couldn’t resist chance to sledge Cam Waters
Waters claimed Kiwi was a "B-grade" driver after their clash in New Zealand
BJR won from pole in Tasmania last weekend, snapped two-year drought
Andre Heimgartner has fired back at Cam Waters’ “B-grade” sledge from New Zealand, saying victory in Tasmania proved that words can “backfire.”
The Brad Jones Racing driver starred at Symmons Plains last weekend, racing from pole to victory in the biggest surprise of the season to date.
For Heimgartner, it was the best way to return serve at Tickford Racing rival Waters, who after their clash in Taupō, took aim at the Kiwi.
Speaking in New Zealand, Waters quipped: "Just kinda stupid. The pass is already done and I don't really know why he did it... hopefully we don't have to race the B-grade drivers.”
Heimgartner kept that sledge in his pocket, and couldn’t resist the chance to fire back as he celebrated Boost Mobile Pole, saying: "I took Cam Waters' advice, and started to be more like an 'A’ driver."
When asked about the moment on MotorRacing 360, Heimgartner explained: “I hadn’t been rehearsing it at all.
“Of course, in life when anyone has a sledge at your character or a sledge at your profession, you’re thinking at night, ‘how good would it be if you won a race, you’re able to get something back’.
“That doesn’t get handed yo you on a platter like that. As soon as I got interviewed, I thought, ‘This is too good an opportunity not to’.
“It’s all fun and games, but for sure, hopefully it shows you shouldn’t talk too much about people, because it can backfire big time.”
Heimgartner followed up his Waters comments with a brilliant victory, outlasting Broc Feeney in an enthralling first stint before racing away to a dominant win.
Sinclair wrote: "The average gap to Heimgartner was only 0.3 seconds across those 20 laps. A single mistake would’ve seen Heimgartner’s race win disappear."
When asked if it was his best drive, Heimgartner replied: “I think it’s up there.
“My win in New Zealand, I had Chaz Mostert in the rain behind me the whole first stint, pretty similar situation.
“[Feeney] is one of the standout guys, the best guy in the category at the moment, he essentially had nothing to trouble me too much.
“It was a fun bit of chess at the hairpin, there’s so many different lines you can do… it’s good fun when you can control it from the start.”
