The stage is set for this weekend’s Loveday 400 and Jake Swinglehurst is raring to make his BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship (AORC) return.
With a preferred race format and a rebuilt Jimco Pro Buggy, Swinglehurst is eager see where he measures up against the leaders in his first race since 2022.
“We’ve raced at Loveday before and really enjoyed the format of the race,” Swinglehurst said.
“The buggy just hasn’t been where I’ve wanted it but I’m confident it’s ready to race now.”
Swinglehurst will compete for the first time in 2024 alongside his siblings, Tom and Kate, the third event of the AORC marking the first time all three siblings have driven in the same race.
The sibling dynamic has shifted somewhat from his last outing at this event, with Kate now in the driver’s seat having played the role of co-driver for Jake throughout the 2022 season.
“This will be the first race all three of us will be racing together,” he said.
“I reckon it will be very competitive between the three of us, but it’s good to see Kate racing the national races – hopefully she will do Finke soon.”
The Swinglehurst duo went into their last Loveday 400 as championship leaders, a seventh outright finish at the 2022 Tatts Finke Desert Race bolstering their points tally ahead of the race.
Challenged from the outset of his 2022 Loveday campaign, Swinglehurst’s efforts were thwarted by a roll in Prologue that cost the duo heavily for the remainder of the weekend.
“Last time we were at Loveday, Kate and I were leading the championship and unfortunately, rolled in prologue. Lap 1 we had steering issues which put us down to 37th,” he said.
“[It was a] tough day but taught us to keep pushing no matter what.”
As for the rest of the season, Swinglehurst has not ruled out entries for the upcoming Gold City 450 and Kalgoorlie Desert Race.
Balancing his Loveday preparation with an impressive full Ironman triathlon debut last month in Cairns, the Queensland local is eager to see what he can achieve across both disciplines for the remainder of the year.
“It all depends on how this race goes for me and what’s on outside racing. The car is still practically new after the rebuild,” he said.
“The last 12 months have certainly been busy. I had a goal of completing a full Ironman Triathlon, which I did four weeks ago, so this was the next race available after that.”
Images: Bob Taylor
