News
Jackson Rice going to great lengths
THE stakes have been raised in this year’s Trico Trans Am Series, and Dream Racing Australia has gone to great lengths to ensure Jackson Rice’s success this season.
Rice will return to Dream Racing Australia, driving a Ford Mustang backed by First National Real Estate, and will be part of a rolling roster of major partners for this season.
The Mustang received a complete strip down and was rebuilt during the off-season overseen not only by Dream’s experienced team manager Cameron Fisher, but engineering whiz Glenn Seton.
A two-time Australian Touring Car Championship, Seton is still regarded as one of the country’s great engineering minds and bolstered Dream’s experienced team mid-last year.
He has played an integral part alongside Fisher and Rice in rebuilding the Mustang during the break ahead of an all-out assault on the Trico Trans Am Series.
Rice is eager to start at round one at Symmons Plains, near Launceston in Tasmania, after the rebuild and rejuvenation during the off-season.
Now racing in his second full-season in Trico Trans Am, Rice is targeting wins in what is set to be the toughest season in the category yet considering 30-plus entries that have been received for the opening round.
Being the only representative for Dream at Symmons Plains, Rice is playing up the underdog story and is determined to replicate his previous strong performances on the Apple Isle.
Trico Trans Am will take on a seven-round schedule starting at Symmons Plains before heading to the Mecca of Australian motorsport, Bathurst during Easter.
A trip to Darwin follows supporting the Repco Supercars Championship before Trans Am is the headline act at Race Winton.
South Australia will then host the final three rounds at The Bend, Mallala and the Adelaide Parklands Circuit.
Rice and Dream Racing Australia hit the track for the first time at Symmons Plains on March 22-23 headlining Hi-Tec Oils Race Tasmania.
QUOTES
Jackson Rice
#7 First National Real Estate, Ford Mustang
“I’ve been really head down, arse up the whole break to turn our car around,” said Rice.
“We’ve stripped it to a chassis and pretty well started again. We’ve just built everything from the ground up. Seto (Glenn Seton), Cambo (Cameron Fisher) and myself have got our heads together particularly in the area of set-up to ensure the rig is tuned up.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can do in Tassie, with more than 30 cars it’s going to be pretty hectic and assume it will be split qualifying again, so I need to make sure we’re in the fast group and make every lap count when we’re there.
“Last year we had top five pace all weekend. We were quick in practice and in qualifying the diff broke, which was followed by such a short turnaround time we missed Race 1 by mere minutes. That just put us on the back foot for the weekend, but we still ended up 10th and eighth in the two races. It was a challenging one last year for the boys and I, both mentally and physically.
“We’ve only been fast at Tassie and it suits my driving style, so I’m confident in the package we’ve got to give it a good shake down there.
“Massive credit to Seto and also Cambo, we’ve worked really hard in the workshop together. Seto has a plethora of knowledge over so many categories and years, so it’s really cool to have those guys as my peers to be able to learn how to make these things tick in addition to areas to find speed. I feel pretty privileged and it gives me so much confidence when you’ve got two of the country’s best engineers in my opinion behind you.
“We’re 18 months into our Trans Am program and I’ve got a bit of pressure on myself to make sure I perform. This year, the goal is to be on the top step, but I don’t think anyone thinks otherwise. We also need to finish to bank points, because as has been displayed in previous seasons most of the guys at the top have been consistent.
“The field is stacked this year. There’s guys in the category that are high-level athletes – a mix of professionals and some of the best drivers in the country – so you’ve got to expect to perform at that level. I’ve got expectations on myself now having scored a couple of podiums, which was great, but to get the monkey off our back with a win or a couple of victories throughout the year and just be as competitive as possible.
“I love an underdog story. I’ve put in a lot of hard work in the background and I feel like here at Dream Racing we quietly achieve what we need to, but the category is at its most competitive ever. We finished ninth in the title last year and to finish better than that would be awesome amongst names like Todd Hazelwood, James Moffat and Nathan Herne.”