Andre Heimgartner still alive despite writing season off
BJR driver "enthused," one round after drawing line through 2026
Heimgartner wiped 47 points off Finals deficit in Perth
An “enthused” Andre Heimgartner wants more weekends like Perth to keep his faint Finals hopes alive.
The Brad Jones Racing driver made headlines after an untimely engine issue in Townsville, claiming his season was all but over.
At that stage, the Kiwi was 175 points away from 10th place, and needing a miracle to reach the post-season.
However, in his adopted hometown of Perth, Heimgartner delivered one of his strongest weekends of the year when he needed it most, and slashed his deficit to 10th.
With three rounds remaining before the cut-off, Heimgartner is 128 points down, having wiped away 47 points from the deficit. It could have been even better had the car come to Heimgartner in the Wanneroo finale, the New Zealander stuck in 11th after starting in the same position.
“Solid day, qualified 11th and finished 11th so reasonably happy with that and a solid weekend overall,” he said after the Perth finale.
"We moved our problems around a little bit in that last race. They didn't really solve exactly what we're looking for.
“Overall enthused and excited to try and make some progress and have more solid weekends like this one was.”
Perth Saturday — with finishes of eighth and seventh — was just the third instance of Heimgartner stringing together consecutive top 10s, after Melbourne and Christchurch/Tasmania.
Team owner Jones was pleased with solid speed in his Toyotas, despite admitting his team missed the boat for Heimgartner in the finale.
“We saw Andre competing in the top 10 there [on Saturday] and around the periphery [on Sunday] again,” Jones told Supercars’ Equip Super Cool Down Lap podcast.
"I felt like it was not a bad weekend for us. We had reasonable speed. I'd say [on Sunday] we missed a bit of a trick, I felt like where we were on track, we probably would've been better to stop a bit early.”
BJR has yet to confirm its 2026 enduro line-up. Bryce Fullwood has been tipped to drive alongside Heimgartner.
The 2026 season resumes in Ipswich on August 21-23.
Andre Heimgartner: 2026 championship progression
Rnd | Rnd pos | Champ pos | To Finals | Gain/loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sydney | 17th | 17th | -47 | -47 |
Melbourne | 13th | 15th | -59 | -12 |
Taupō | 11th | 15th | -113 | -54 |
Christchurch | 13th | 13th | -162 | -49 |
Tasmania | 6th | 12th | -123 | +39 |
Darwin | 11th | 12th | -124 | -1 |
Townsville | 22nd | 14th | -175 | -51 |
Perth | 7th | 13th | -128 | +47 |
