Mount Gambier Super2 driver Jobe Stewart found the going tough in Western Australia on the weekend.
The youngster, who turned 20 last month, described Saturday as “average qualifying”, which he said took away the chance for a decent result in the race.
“I moved forward five spots to finish 12th and come home with some decent points,” he said.
Stewart’s difficulties continued into Sunday.
“It was a bit of a tough time … pretty much last year we struggled there a little bit. So this year going back to Perth, we tried a little bit different with the car setup in a few areas and it took us a little while to get our heads around,” he said.
“In qualifying as well we kind of struggled the most in really maximising the grip from the new tyres for whatever reason, which we’ll have to look into a bit deeper.
“The race pace was actually pretty good. I was able to pass a few cars and move forward in the races.”
Stewart qualified 17th on Saturday and finished the race in 12th, while on Sunday he qualified 12th and finished seventh.
“We managed to pass a few … it was not too bad compared to where we started,” he said.
“It was a little bit disappointing, especially after the first round where I came second in the Sunday race at Bathurst.
“We were feeling pretty confident after that one coming back into Perth so it was a bit of a hit back to reality, I guess, when we were not quite on the pace.”
Stewart said he and his team would spend some time debriefing before he takes to the track in Townsville in July.
“I think we’ll just debrief a little bit, just me and the engineers and look at what we did and what we could have done better and then going into the next round at Townsville, just make a decision on if we’re going to stick with what we have had or go back or whatever and make changes before we get to the race so we know we’re prepared in the best way possible,” he said.
“I’m feeling okay, I think I’m still sitting sixth in the championship after the second round. So it’s not the end of the world, it’s only the second round out of six for the year so it’s still a long way to go.
“I’m just glad the car came home in one piece with no damage, as you would have seen those crashes were pretty bad.
“It happened right in front of me but I was just able to avoid it luckily on that one corner where a few people went off.”
