LANCEFIELD teenager Jaylyn Robotham finished in 18th position in his debut Bathurst 1000 race on Sunday.
The 19-year-old made his V8 Supercars debut, driving as part of Matt Chahda Motorsport, MCM, a team that received a wildcard entry into the race.
Robotham races against Chahda in Super2 season – a stepping-stone series before V8 Supercars.
The Mount Panorama race presented plenty of challenges for drivers this year, with rain in previous days and a wet track causing headaches across the 161 laps.
The Caltex young start drivers qualified 26th, with Chahda at 15th after his first stint but dropped to 23rd after sliding off the track.
Robotham took over on lap 31 and made his way up to 10th position, but a brake issue in one of the pit stops set the team back, putting the number 118 Holden back to 22nd place.
“We were sitting just outside the top 10 before the brakes seized. We lost two laps there so it was good to get back on the lead lap,” Robotham told The Race Torque.
After many cars had completed their final pit stop, the MCM team made a strategic call to wait it out. A safety car occurred, allowing them to pit for the final time and gain the laps back they lost earlier.
“Once it came out we were all pretty happy, we all knew that’s what we needed to get back on the lead lap,” Robotham said.
Robotham said he struggled in the last stint of the day due to fatigue in the six-hour race.
“It’s a long day, we were in our suits for 12 hours, it was hot out there and we didn’t have our drink bottle,” he said.
“It went very fast, it was good to make my debut in the main game … Beat a few cars and just stayed out of trouble, we’re all really happy.”
