 Jess & Thompson will be hard to beat in 2012
For this year’s event, Jess has made some changes to the car in attempt to make it competitive with some of the more powerful vehicles.
“We’re trying a new type of engine, and we’re hoping it will give us a bit more straight-line speed,” he said.
“Winning the Wakefield 300 is all about staying consistent, and doing competitive lap-times all race long. That’s how I won in 2008 and 2009.
“Last year, we finished fifth even though we had to make an unscheduled pit-stop with a fuel leak, so if we don’t have any problems and can get through the race on one stop, we should be looking good.”
The qualifying times of the Future Racer should place it amongst the fastest Division 2 cars, meaning Jess and Thompson will only need to make one pit-stop. However, a potential weakness is the lack of a fuel gauge in the Future Racer, making it harder to ascertain the car’s range on a tank of fuel and making strategic calculations more tricky.
Driver Profiles
| Nathan Jess
Lives: Canberra, NSW
Occupation: Owner, Canberra Hydraulics
Career highlights:
- Multiple Australian Future Racer champion
- Two-time Wakefield 300 winner
Best Wakefield 300 result: 1st 2008 with Chris Clearihan & 2009 with Jeff Davy |
Matthew Thompson
Lives: Melbourne, Victoria
Occupation:
Career highlights:
- Regular competitor in Future Racers
Best Wakefield 300 result: 5th 2011 with Nathan Jess |
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