BJR faces an unexpected challenge with the introduction of the Toyota V8 engine.
Earlier today, Speedcafe reported that the new 5.2-liter Toyota engines are currently being manufactured by the homologation team Walkinshaw TWG in Melbourne. Once completed, these engines will be sent to the Supercars engine dyno located in Brisbane for testing.
On Wednesday, BJR's truck driver made a crucial trip to deliver one of these engines to the team's base in Albury, followed by another round trip today to drop off an additional engine.
In a video update provided by the team owner, Jones, it was revealed that they encountered an unexpected requirement: a crew member had to make an eight-hour round trip to Ballarat. This was necessary because BJR had not realized that the input shaft length of the Toyota engine matches that of the Ford engines, but differs from that used in their previous Chevrolet Camaros.
"We were completely unaware that there was any difference, but it turns out there’s a significant variation in length," he explained, highlighting the oversight.
In response to this realization, one of the team members promptly jumped into a vehicle, sped down to Ballarat, and picked up a few of these input shafts to assemble and return them to the team. "This illustrates the level of dedication we have to ensuring everything is ready," Jones added.
BJR remains optimistic about getting its first Supra onto the track for preliminary testing at Winton sometime next week. The objective is to conduct these initial tests before heading to Sydney for the pre-season test scheduled for February 18, which will lead to the season opener from February 20 to 22.
"We’re hopeful about getting the engine installed in the car soon," Jones mentioned. "A representative from Walkinshaw will come down next week, and we’ll start the engine, making everything feel very real quite quickly."
Additionally, Walkinshaw is set to send Chaz Mostert’s Supra this evening for engine parity testing, which will occur at Queensland Raceway and Bathurst.
