Amid the chaos of a wet The Bend circuit, Ojeda carved a new career milestone. The 27-year-old rookie crossed the line sixth, but a five-second post-race penalty for Matt Payne promoted him to fifth. This marks Ojeda's best-ever Supercars result, surpassing his previous sixth-place finishes at The Bend with Walkinshaw last year and in Tasmania earlier this season.
Payne's penalty stemmed from late-race contact with Ojeda, the Kiwi shouldering the rookie aside while charging through on fresher tyres. That incident was the final blow on a dramatic day for the PremiAir entry shared by Ojeda and David Russell, who was involved in multiple incidents during the wet early stints.
“DRuss did an awesome job to bring the car back to me in one piece,” reflected Ojeda, who has led the rookie standings all season. “That was a task in itself with how much aquaplaning there was and how difficult the conditions were. The crew were awesome as well, all the pit stops were really strong, and we just kept chipping away. We had a really strong car in the wet and found ourselves inside the top five.”
Ojeda charged from 13th to third during his first stint, which was also the last wet portion of the race. However, as the track dried, the car's performance faded. “As the track started to dry, we struggled a little bit,” he added. “I think a lot of the qualities that made the car really nice in the wet probably worked against us a little once it dried out. Ultimately, though, it was awesome to hang in there and come away with a top-five result. It’s my first top five, which is really special.”
For Russell, it was another strong finish. He has now scored top-six results in eight of his last nine starts stretching back to 2021. Russell praised Ojeda and the PremiAir team, while describing the treacherous early conditions. “Visibility was incredibly poor, there was a lot of aquaplaning, and they were probably some of the most difficult stints I’ve done in a Supercar,” he said. “At times, you couldn’t even see the rain light of the car in front. It was disappointing to get turned around and hit a couple of times, because I feel like we could have been a lot further up without those incidents. There was obviously a lot happening, but the main thing was making sure we brought the car home while still trying to recover as much ground as we could.”
The result – combined with disqualification for James Golding – puts Ojeda 12th in the standings, just 70 points adrift of the Finals cut-off with one round remaining. Teammate Declan Fraser is 21st in the championship after the car he shared with Nash Morris at The Bend stopped in the closing stages with no oil pressure while running 17th. Fraser had been the only full-time driver to start the race before handing over to Morris, who endured a spectacular spin after a side-swipe from eventual winner Chaz Mostert.
Golding's disqualification shakes up the race for Finals Series berths. With one round left, the battle is intensifying and every point counts. Ojeda, consistently the top rookie, now has a real shot at securing a Finals spot. But he must stay focused and capitalise on every opportunity.
For Ojeda, The Bend was proof that he can compete at the highest level. With the support of the PremiAir team and valuable experience from Russell, he is ready for the next challenge. “This is truly special,” he concluded. “We’ll keep working hard and see what we can achieve.”
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