Probably the weirdest point to take out of round 3 of the Logitech G Pro Invitational Series was the absence of Jake Burton fighting for the win. The Vendaval VRS pilot has become an expected regular at the front of the field, capable of winning races and boxing toe to toe with the best of them, but Burton never really featured all night.
When we say didn’t feature, qualifying 11th and coming home in 13th is nothing to sneeze at. Some drivers would be satisfied to have a night like this, but not Burton. We know he will be seething! Dropping from a close 2nd in the points to 3rd and letting Jarrad Filsell, his arch nemesis bank a whole lot of points on him, we can almost guarantee you won’t see this again from Jake.
Racing at Sydney Motorsport Park prior to the race diluted Jakes practice time. It goes to show how elite the level of competition is when a front runner like Jake slips down through the field if he can’t put in as much practice as the rest.
Speaking with Jake after the race, he lamented trying what he called a radical new setup direction, low wing to try and make use of the long straights and draft at Red Bull Ring. But it didn’t work out as the tyre degradation increased and left him as a sitting duck in the braking zones.
Next we head to Monza, a similar high speed, high draft track. Maybe Burtons new setup direction will pay off in Italy, tune in to see at 7:30pm, Wednesday the 13th of July.
