Photo credit: Colson Photography
Jackson Rice will be looking to redeem himself after a challenging weekend in Tasmania last month. Mechanical issues caused some dramas for the #7 Ford Mustang, however the young gun managed to stay level-headed and recovered to end the weekend inside the top 10. Rice and his team Dream Racing Australia completed a test day at Phillip Island last week, where he was able to gain some invaluable experience ahead of this weekend’s race. “We had a really great test day last week,” admitted Rice. “So, I’m feeling really confident in the car and have high hopes that we can give it a good crack this weekend.” Whilst Rice is no stranger to the Phillip Island circuit, there have been some changes since he last raced there – posing some questions around tyre degradation. “I love the track. Phillip Island is historically very fast, very flowing. It’s quite technical, so it’s evident that you have got to have a bit of ‘balls’,” laughed Rice. “I last raced at Phillip Island 18 months ago, which was a lot of fun – especially with the pack race, there was plenty of slip stream from the long straights, which keeps everyone nice and close and adds a pretty technical challenge. “It was interesting to see that the track had been resurfaced and the difference it made. Traditionally, Phillip Island was a low degradation circuit whereas now, with the new surface people are finding that it’s more like Sydney Motorsport Park – and is quite a high degradation track. “So, the challenge over the weekend will definitely be trying to look after tyres and of course the car and the components, because there’s so much lateral load now and so much grip from the new surface, that it’s just changing a lot of aspects from the cars and the way in which we have to drive them. “It’s going to be an interesting weekend. But, I’m really looking forward to it! I’m pretty confident with the car, we’re obviously on the hunt to recoup some Championship points from Tassie and missing that first race. We haven’t dropped too far down the leader board, but it’s just knocked us a little bit on points. So, I just want to be consistent this weekend and bank as many points as possible to bring us back into the Championship hunt. “A massive thanks to all of the crew at Dream Racing Australia and of course all of my sponsors and supporters for your continued support. “Let’s hope we can have a great weekend!” The Trico TransAm Series hit the track for the first practice session on Friday 12th April, 9:20am local time, with broadcast live and free across the weekend on 7plus and 7mate.