Ojeda gets answers ahead of make-or-break run

Jayden Ojeda has firmly established himself as the standout rookie of the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship, but he knows there is plenty more to come.

A full day of testing at The Bend Motorsport Park might have unlocked said potential, as key questions were answered following a puzzling weekend of contrasting fortunes in Perth.

A string of top 10 results saw the Sydneysider surge into the picture to crack the top 10, but that looked to come to a screeching halt with finishes of 20th and 18th in the first two races in Perth, his worst results since April.

But, after "turning the car upside down," Ojeda stormed from 20th to eighth in the finale, keeping his Finals momentum on track by slashing his 166-point deficit to 132.

The PremiAir crew was left to ponder why there was such a performance deficit to begin with, Ojeda telling Supercars.com that information from teammate Declan Fraser's Ipswich rookie day in July provided crucial intel.

When asked if any set-up tweaks were verified, Ojeda responded: “Yeah we did, we made a heap of progress, and we got answers to questions that we had coming out of Perth.

“We couldn’t work out why we made the big step forward from Saturday to Sunday while we were in Perth, but we were able to get an answer at The Bend.

“Obviously Declan had his test day before Perth, and some of those learnings actually helped us out with our rookie day as well.

“It gave us a start on where we could begin our day, and then we went from there and were able to validate a few things which should help us out from Ipswich."

The test also marked a crucial milestone in preparations for the Ryco Enduro Cup, where veteran David Russell will return to the #31 Chevrolet.

Russell was on hand to complete 10 laps at The Bend, on the same West Circuit layout that will host the AirTouch 500 in September.

Maintaining his race fitness in Carrera Cup, Russell — a veteran of 16 Bathurst starts — is a perfect foil to Ojeda, who will take on Bathurst for the first time as a primary driver.

“It's always good to get more miles under my belt in a Supercar, and it was great to get D-Russ some laps too. It was only 10 laps, so not much to learn but a little headstart for when we go back there in a month's time," continued Ojeda.

“For me it’s just all about continuing to learn the ins and outs of a Supercar, and it’s a lot easier to do that over a whole day.

“Obviously in race weekends you have such limited time to learn, the back-to-back sessions are basically one session, and then you’re straight into qualy sims, and then qualifying proper."

The pair shape as an intriguing Ryco Enduro Cup combination, especially given Bathurst has traditionally been one of PremiAir Racing's strongest venues in Supercars.

Russell and James Golding crossed the line first at Bathurst last year, but were bumped down to third following their

Needless to say, getting so close has lit a fire under PremiAir, with Ojeda himself also having gone close to a Bathurst win last year, leading the most laps alongside Ryan Wood before a late engine fault. However, Ojeda knows he has to keep himself in the game across Ipswich and The Bend.

“Yeah for sure, I mean there’s a lot of new people and faces here compared to last year, but we saw just how well they ran at Bathurst last year, and even before then.

“I wouldn’t say that its wounds to heal at Bathurst, but I feel we definitely want to go back there and be right in the hunt again.

“We’re definitely still in the fight, and really the next three rounds are gonna be super important.

“This test day could definitely help us into the 10, but it’s only one test and we’ve now got to back that up with results."

Ojeda is 14th in points, with on track action at the Century Batteries Ipswich Super 440 beginning on Friday, August 21.