Solid weekend for Declan Fraser amid future uncertainty
Fraser ended weekend gaining six positions on Sunday
2022 Super2 champion finished ahead of teammate Jayden Ojeda in second race
At a time where Declan Fraser's Supercars future is up in the air, Perth was just the weekend he needed.
There mightn't have been any headline-grabbing results after rounding out a PremiAir 1-2 in the opening practice session of the weekend, but a weekend of solid performances haven't done his cause any harm.
Most notably, he finished ahead of teammate Jayden Ojeda in the second race of the weekend, a finish of 12th backing up one of his better qualifying showings of the year in 13th.
Questions surrounding Fraser's future with the team have been circulating throughout the middle of the season, with Team Principal Roland Dane forced to deny reports that the 2022 Super2 champion could be moved on mid-season.
Whilst Ojeda soared from 20th to eighth in the final race, Fraser also quietly moved forward from 22nd to 16th, and whilst admitting qualifying had hurt his race potential, was pleased to end the weekend on a positive note.
"Sunday's done and dusted. Qualifying wasn't where we wanted to be, so we knew we'd have some work to do in the race. We had a bit of confidence after yesterday and were able to carry that into today," said Fraser after the weekend.
"To come away with a P16 finish after starting from P22 is a solid result. The strategy worked well, the crew did an awesome job in pit lane, and we managed to make up some good ground throughout the race.
"There's still plenty for us to learn, but it's nice to finish the weekend moving forward. We'll take the positives from Perth and keep building from here."
Team owner Peter Xiberras also took the positives out of a weekend that saw Ojeda stay within reach of a shock Finals berth in his rookie season.
However, the positives also flowed onto the #777 side of the garage, a rookie test day held between Townsville and Perth seemingly answering questions surrounding Fraser's lack of perfomance.
"Probably the word I'd use is encouraging. There were certainly moments across the weekend where things felt tough, but the way we finished gives us a lot of confidence," added team owner Xiberras.
"We've learned a great deal, and there were plenty of encouraging signs, even if they weren't fully reflected on the results sheet. That's the important thing for us right now: we're seeing progress, and we know we're moving in the right direction.
"I'm excited to see what we can take from this weekend into the next few rounds, continue learning, and keep building on what we've found."
Fraser is 18th in points heading to the Century Batteries Ipswich Super 440 from August 21-23.
