Dane hopes star rookie Ojeda sticks with PremiAir

PremiAir Racing boss Roland Dane is hopeful Jayden Ojeda will remain with the team, amid another standout performance by the rookie.

Ojeda is top of the rookies in the standings heading to Darwin, and impressed with third in qualifying and sixth in the race in Tasmania.

The Sydney-born racer kept the momentum going with a brilliant run to fifth in Darwin qualifying, and was just 0.14s behind pole man Brodie Kostecki.

In a year that General Motors has been beaten from pillar to post over its driver stocks, Ojeda is rapidly making ground. In Tasmania, team owner Peter Xiberras doubled down on his decision to replace Richie Stanaway with Ojeda for the final rounds of 2025.

Team Principal Dane revealed Thursday that Ojeda is contracted to the Gold Coast team until 2027, and believes rival teams should he chasing his signature.

“Somebody as good as Jayden, for sure other people should be looking at him,” Dane said.

“But ultimately I hope he’ll stay with PremiAir. He’s certainly committed for next year.”

Dane also revealed that he put Ojeda’s name forward to replace Shane van Gisbergen at Triple Eight in 2024, with Will Brown — who went on to win that year's championship — ultimately landing the deal.

“I’m surprised he wasn’t in Supercars already,” ex-Triple Eight boss Dane continued.

“I put it forward when I was on the board at Triple Eight as a replacement for Shane. Quite rightly, Will Brown was available in the end and got the drive.

“But to me he should have been in Supercars already, I was surprised he wasn’t given his track record.

“Hopefully he continues on the trajectory he is and proves me right.”

Race 17 will commence at 5:00pm local/5:30pm AEST. Fox Sports, Kayo Sports, and Sky NZ take live coverage. International fans can watch on SuperView.