ADAM DeBorre’s first event as AIM Motorsport team principal proved nothing short of a baptism of fire.
DeBorre saw plenty in his decade-plus as an engineer in the Supercars Championship, but his start to life at the helm of expanded Super2 squad AIM has been something else.
There was the theft of rear uprights which hampered the ability to get Zane Morse back on track after a Practice 1 incident.
Then, after a mechanical-induced visit to the gravel in Saturday qualifying, Morse was tagged by Cameron Crick (Eggleston Motorsport) at the Cutting in Race 1, triggering a multi-car pile-up in which AIM’s Jett Johnson-driven Mustang also sustained significant damage.
The crew worked on repairs until after midnight, and all the while James Masterton in AIM’s customer entry was battling persistent clutch dramas.
Sunday was less eventful, if not overly successful as Johnson placed 13th, Masterton 20th and Morse 21st after the latter suffered a slow start and a last-corner off.
AIM has invested heavily in equipment and personnel, but it will have to wait until at least Round 2 at Perth to reap the rewards.
“It’s been a challenge,” DeBorre, formerly Chaz Mostert’s long-time race engineer, told V8 Sleuth.
“We’ve had everything thrown at us. We have used pretty much all of the spares that we had this weekend, so thankfully there is a three-month gap to Perth.”
DeBorre did note the need for an increased spares reserve within the Super2 paddock, after a parts shortage was a problem felt by more than just AIM.
“We buy these cars as customers from Supercar teams,” he said.
“It’s not like Carrera Cup where Porsche Australia will carry a massive inventory for the whole category; it’s up to the teams to carry them, and they’ve got their racing program, we’ve got our racing program. We’re kind of limited in having to buy from them.
“I hope they will start stocking more components for customers, or we can come to some sort of arrangement where they outsource. It’s frustrating.
“It’s not like we didn’t come prepared to go racing; we just had a big weekend, no different to Symmons Plains (2017 Supercars Championship) when half the field got destroyed and it was a struggle to get cars back on track then.”
Morse, Johnson and Masterton are 13th, 15th and 22nd respectively in the standings after Round 1, while Eggleston ace Kai Allen leads with a perfect two-from-two record in 2024. The Dunlop Series will support the Repco Supercars Championship at Wanneroo Raceway on May 17-19.
