Jayden Ojeda finished 18th in Sunday’s Supercars race at the Sandown 500. Image: Mark Horsburgh
It was a solid if unspectacular first weekend as a Supercars full-timer for the #62 Chevrolet Camaro driver, who was thrust into the seat after Richie Stanaway’s sudden exit.
The Sydneysider set his expectations relatively low, and with just two 30-minute practice sessions qualified for the weekend’s opener 21st in the 24-car field.
Ojeda finished Saturday’s race in 20th after recovering from a spin.
Come Sunday, inclement conditions jumbled the field and Ojeda capitalised to qualify 16th, just three places behind teammate James Golding.
However, his work was undone by a poor start, thanks to a puddle in his grid box that the team was not allowed to clean up.
The team misjudged tyre pressures when the rain fell early on and he pitted inside the first 10 laps. All told, at the end of 81 laps, Ojeda wound up 18th.
Speaking with Speedcafe, Ojeda said he learned “a fair bit to say the least” after being thrown in the deep end.
“The biggest thing was just coming into this weekend and trying to learn as much as I can, which I did,” said Ojeda.
“I made mistakes, but that’s only to be expected when you’re jumping in just before a race meeting and having 60 minutes of practice before going into racing.
“I’m happy with the outcome of it all. The biggest thing is just building each time I go out in the car for next year.
“Qualifying on Sunday was strong. We almost felt a little bit disappointed to not make the top 10.
“We were strong in both Q1 and Q2, ultimately just mistimed our run onto the new tyre, expecting the rain to come a little bit earlier than it did.
“You take that into consideration – P16 is a good result regardless. There’s possibly more on the cards there from that session.
“Then you look at the race, the pace in the race probably was a little bit stronger on Saturday than it was on Sunday.
“A few things from me that I could have done better in the Sunday race. We missed a few tricks as well in the race. Nonetheless, just keep building for next year.”
Jayden Ojeda on the grid before Sunday’s Supercars race at the Sandown 500. Image: Kassandra Brumley
Ojeda said he was pleased with how he stacked up against teammate Golding, considering the 29-year-old is in his fifth season full-time.
Golding will join the Blanchard Racing Team in 2026 alongside Aaron Cameron, making way at PremiAir Racing for Declan Fraser.
“I think in terms of pace, I was close to where I wanted to be in regards to Jimmy,” said Ojeda.
“He’s a seasoned veteran when it comes to Supercars. He’s done five seasons as it is now, obviously broken up across a couple of stints.
“It’s awesome to have him in the team and obviously learn from him for the next couple of rounds before he moves on. It was really good to base off of him.”
Ojeda will be one of five rookies in the 2026 season alongside Rylan Gray, Jackson Walls, Zach Bates, and Jobe Stewart.
He is the oldest of the quintet at 26, and says the “rookie” tag isn’t something he is aligning himself with – considering his six Bathurst 1000 starts and vast GT experience.
“I’m a rookie when it comes to Supercars, 100 percent, but obviously I’ve done a fair bit of racing, a fair bit of endurance racing and a lot of Supercars racing recently as well,” he said.
“You pick up a lot of things, regardless, in motorsport. Whether it’s in Supercars or out of Supercars, it’s just applying that to a slightly different code.
“In that aspect I’m quite a bit more experienced, but then obviously I haven’t raced in Supercars full-time either, so I need to be realistic in that aspect.”
