PERFORMANCE & RACING
BURSON AUTO PARTS RACING WINS A breakthrough victory came at the Phillip Island TCR Round It took only until the second round of the 2021 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series for Burson Auto Parts Racing to claim its first TCR race win and overall round victory. Burson Auto Parts Racing driver Jason Bargwanna delivered a superb victory in the second and final race of the round, fighting his way through the top end of the field in perfect weather conditions to claim the Sunday’s TCR race victory, the first in Australia for the Peugeot marque. Jason gained the opportunity to power into the lead of the race when rival Chaz Mostert suffered a tyre failure on the 12th lap. From there the highly experienced racer extended his lead by several tenths of a second per lap to score a memorable inaugural TCR Australia Series victory for Burson Auto Parts Racing and Garry Rogers Motorsport (GRM).
This victory adds to a series of firsts for Jason and GRM, given that the Victorian driver raced to GRM’s first Supercars victory back in 1998 and he won the Bathurst 1000 with the team for the first time in 2000. Jason also earned his emphatic inaugural TCR Australia Series victory after last competing with GRM all the way back in 2002. This victory also presented an outstanding fightback by the team following the Burson Auto Parts Racing driver’s major accident at the final race of the opening round held in Tasmania. The veteran racer displayed outstanding pace throughout Sunday’s 15 lap race to stand on the top step of the TCR Australia podium for the first time. “To come back to GRM with Burson Auto Parts and obviously having my son Ben as my teammate, it’s pretty emotional stuff,” Jason said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, but to be able to come back and get the winner’s trophy - it’s pretty special. The guys at GRM worked hard to fix this old girl after Tassie and to come back - and it was a bit of a jet in that last race. “We were out of the window a bit in qualifying, we managed to work our way to it, and we were catching Chaz, which is always a good thing.”
Ben Bargwanna, piloting the striking Precision Auto Equipment liveried second GRM TCR Australia Peugeot 308 finished sixth in the final race of the round after another strong and consistent weekend. Saturday’s TCR race saw torrential rain hit the Victorian seaside circuit, with Jason and Ben finishing fifth and ninth respectively. “What a way to get the 2021 season under way for Burson Auto Parts Racing,” Burson Auto Parts General Manager – Marketing, Anthony Hughes, said. “We always knew that we had the drivers and the team to win races in this competitive series. Now, at only the second round of the championship, we have already delivered on that promise. “We are also very pleased to have shared this inaugural success with our supplier sponsors, Hella Pagid, Dayco, Wesfil, Fuchs, Sachs, Bosch and Premier Auto Trade.” For more from Burson Auto Parts, visit www.burson.com.au
DAYCO PARTNERSHIP OPTIMISES HYBRID TECH The Dayco team recently worked with Maserati to create a tailored solution for its Ghibli Hybrid Dayco – a leading engine products and drive systems specialist for the automotive, industrial and aftermarket industries – says it is not only considered a preferred solution provider for high technology original equipment components around the world, but a strategic technical partner in the design and manufacture of complete systems. It says a recent example of this role is demonstrated in the company’s relationship with Maserati, for which the Dayco team designed and manufactured a tailored solution for the complete BSG (Belt-integrated Starter Generator) hybrid system, also known as P0 Architecture, for the brand’s MHEV (Mild-Hybrid Electric Vehicle) engine in its Ghibli Hybrid. “To achieve Maserati’s required objectives, each component of the hybrid system has been designed to the highest standards to maximise fuel savings, reduce CO2 emissions and increase the durability of the entire system,” Dayco Vice President OE Sales and Business Development, Wouter Nijenhuis, said. 92
Australian Automotive Aftermarket Magazine April 2021
“This has been made possible through the compact design and use of optimised materials to produce the side-arm tensioner, the development of a new Poly-V Belt incorporating innovative materials and manufacturing processes to guarantee the best coefficient of friction during the lifetime of the engine. “Finally, the addition of our new damper pulley has been specifically designed to protect the crankshaft of this powerful MHEV engine. “Emphasising our commitment to the relationship with Maserati, the Dayco side-arm tensioner is being produced on a new, dedicated assembly line, which is state-of-the-art for this
type of product and equipped with Industry 4.0 technology. “Embracing the trend towards automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies and processes that is at its heart, the PLC computer control system utilises artificial intelligence, inter-connected assembly machines and finally, features fully autonomous testing. “I wish to thank the entire Dayco global team for this outstanding result, which demonstrates the company’s partnership credentials and was achieved in spite of the exceptionally challenging circumstances caused by the current pandemic.” For more from Dayco, visit www.dayco.com
