A BROKEN conrod was behind the spectacular engine failure that took Brad Jones Racing’s lead car out of the Repco Bathurst 1000.
Co-driver Dale Wood was behind the wheel of Andre Heimgartner’s R&J Batteries Camaro when flames began belching from the engine on lap 69.
It was the first of just two mechanical retirements from the first Great Race run to Gen3 regulations, alongside the Blanchard Racing Team’s CoolDrive Mustang.
In the below video, team owner Brad Jones reveals the catastrophic damage that the failed conrod caused to the engine block.
Under Gen3 rules, the engine will go back to KRE Racing Engines – the engine supplier for all Chevrolet teams – for repairs.
The engine failure came as the #8 Camaro was trying to regain lost ground after an early tangle with Scott Pye dispatched Wood into the gravel at Murray’s Corner.
That triggered a Safety Car and dropped the Camaro a lap down.
“Early on in the race, we looked quite strong,” said Wood post-race. “I think the tyre deg was very good for us. But it obviously didn’t come to fruition.
“(I was) a little bit disappointed in the sort of clumsy contact I had with Scott Pye. (It) grabbed my steering wheel and ripped it out on the hands and sort of fired me off at the last turn.
“So that bit was not good there, and then obviously, the engine letting go, that was a really weird one.
“It gave me a couple of sort of warnings for about a lap that something wasn’t right and then the engine completely shit itself. (It was) bloody disappointing.”
BJR’s #14 Camaro of Bryce Fullwood/Dean Fiore salvaged seventh place from an otherwise tough race for the Albury-based team.
Its #4 Jack Smith/Jaxon Evans and #96 Macauley Jones/Jordan Boys entries finished 21st and 22nd respectively, having both copped damage in a teammate tangle during the early stages.
