‘Get a Lotto ticket’: PremiAir drivers' unsung breakthrough
Jayden Ojeda, Declan Fraser score season-best results in AGP finale
Ojeda, Fraser both survived chaos that saw three cars wiped out at Turn 1
2022 Super2 champ Fraser labels run to 11th from 20th as "real progress"
Through the carnage and chaos, Jayden Ojeda and Declan Fraser let out sighs of relief as they delivered PremiAir Racing a timely turn of good fortune in Melbourne.
After Ojeda lost a wheel in pit lane in Sydney and crashed in Melbourne practice, it seemed the now Roland Dane-led team was destined to stick around in the "can't catch a break" group.
Then, there was a breakthrough, amid Sunday's smoke and clattering of metal: Ojeda and Fraser emerged (somewhat) unscathed to record their best results of the season.
Ojeda launched from 13th and Fraser 20th, which became seventh and 11th by the chequered flag. it wasn't without incident, though, with Fraser somehow avoiding the pin-balling Ford of Broc Feeney in the Turn 1 chaos.
Contact between Feeney and Allen saw Ojeda caught on the outside, and the Penrite Ford hit the PremiAir Camaro. Ojeda surfed through the grass, but carried on.
Behind him, teammate Fraser hit David Reynolds' Team 18 Chevrolet, before finding the smallest of gaps between the spinning Feeney and Andre Heimgartner.
While seventh and 11th aren't explosive results, they offered hope for the team and its drivers. The luck wasn't lost on Fraser, who posted screenshots of his near-miss, with the caption" Get a lotto ticket."
"I copped a couple of hits on both sides at Turn 1, but we managed to scrape through it, which was good, and came out somewhere in the mid-teens,” 2022 Super2 champion Fraser said.
"From there, we were able to work our way forward and come home 11th. For us, that’s real progress.
"It’s only the second round of the season, but we’re starting to get a bit more control and become more competitive, which is really encouraging.
"I’m super stoked and can’t thank PremiAir and the whole #777 crew enough for their efforts over the weekend. We’ll take the positives and roll on to New Zealand.”
Ojeda added: “Finally, a bit of luck.
"I got a good start and saw a couple of cars come together on the run down to Turn 1, so I knew it was going to get chaotic — and it did.
"I had to jump on the grass to avoid it, but we actually came out of it in a pretty good spot. Then it was straight into the Safety Car.
"I managed the restarts reasonably well and the pace of the car was strong, so we were able to pick off a few more spots before the end and come home seventh, which is a great way to finish.
"It’s been a challenging weekend, especially after Thursday, so it’s good to build some momentum and take some real positives into the next round."
The 2026 Repco Supercars Championship resumes across the Tasman, with the ITM NZ Doubleheader kicking off in Taupō on April 10-12. Tickets are on sale now.
