Bitter Sweet Weekend at Brother 350

Bitter Sweet Weekend at Brother 350 for Kofoed in the Total Access Falcon

Young Jack Kofoed admits leaving Pukekohe after the Brother 350 meeting feeling fairly average after a weekend of what could have been.

After minimal laps in practice bedding new brakes new, Jack decided to not risk his car in qualifying and to start last in the first race.

“With my very limited running budget along with Pukekohe’s history for claiming cars especially in the wet, I thought it was the right decision to sit it out. In the process of all that I looked over that fact we receive points for qualifying which ultimately cost me an overall podium for the weekend,” Kofoed explained.

Starting last for the first race, Kofoed made good progress even after a deflating front tire caused some hairy moments near the end to finish third. Heading out for a damp second race starting 3rd, Jack made solid progress to finish the first lap in the lead, with fellow youngster Mark Gibson hot on his tail.

As the conditions worsened, Kofoed was the fastest man on track, until it dried out again allowing Mark Gibson to close in. Making a move at the hairpin during the closing stages to take the lead, this also allowed Glenn Inkster to get through and despite leaving his mark on the Total Access Falcon, Jack finished third once again.

“Race 2 was I think one of my best performances. Leading the majority of the race was a good feeling after such a struggle at the last round. It turned out we went the wrong way with tyre pressures as when it was wet, I felt very comfortable and was pulling a gap on Mark. However as it dried out near the end, I suffered some killer understeer, which allowed Mark and Glenn to catch up and pass me all in one corner. I was fairly upset with Glenn’s pass at the time, I felt it was a bit rough. But Glenn’s a great driver and I’m sure I would have tried the same if the roles were reversed!”

With no new tyres over the weekend, Jack’s weekend didn’t get any better in the final race. The youngster really struggled with the car’s balance on old rubber. Running in third mid-race, it turned into a game of survival, with Malcolm Finch some four seconds behind. A podium had been in sight, but it was not to be with Jack not being able to pull the Total Access Falcon up heading into the new section and having to take to the mud. This allowed Finch to sail past to take the final podium spot.

"I knew going into the weekend that it would be a challenge not being able to take the tyre allocation. It wasn’t too bad in Race 2 but Race 3 was just a nightmare. Once I was in third and had a solid buffer back to Malcolm, I backed off slightly to avoid any silly mistakes. But as the laps went by, I was fighting more and more to keep it on the track, eventually drifting off into the mud at Turn 5,” said Kofoed.

“I was gutted and to nail in the point setting a time in qualifying would have put me on the podium regardless of the off in the final. Overall, it was really a bittersweet weekend, some real positions and a few real simple mistakes that we will certainly learn from. Cannot wait for Taupo and the remainder of the Cogent Cup championship!” Said the youngster.

Young Kofoed has closed in on 3rd place in the Cogent V8 Challenge Cup championship after round 3 - proudly supported by Total Access, Sabelt, Point 2 Point, Mobil 1, NZ Performance Tuning, CivilTrain and OS Motorsport Preparation.

ENDS

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