Garry Jacobson's maiden Bathurst 1000 as a full-time V8 Supercars driver ended in heartbreak on Sunday.
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After the Shepparton product - and co-driver Dean Fiore - had worked hard to place their Rabble.club Racing Nissan in contention for an outstanding top 10 finish as the final stages of the great race approached, disaster struck.
Jacobson and Boost Mobile Racing's Richie Stanaway rubbed panels all the way into `Hell Corner', with the former ending up buried in the sand.
Although Jacobson was able to recover and finish the race in 20th position - one higher than where the number three car had qualified on the grid - it was a case of what could have been for the Goulburn Valley export.
“Our car was clearly quicker than Ritchie’s and we were behind him for about six laps and he made his own mistake going through the last corner then I got up next to him and then once I was next to him he started driving into my car down the straight,” Jacobson told kellyracing.com.au after the race.
“After the third or fourth time hitting me down the straight he cut my tyre and went into the next corner without any grip and we ended up taking each other out into the sand trap.
“Aside from that I think the process of us getting into the top 10 before the contact was an extraordinary effort by the team, the car has handled its best with the latest aero change and a couple of other things we’ve worked on with setup.
“We were a top 10 contender today through genuine pace, the pit stop strategy was good, if you had of told me at the start of the year we would be top 10 at Bathurst I would have been pretty surprised so big thanks to my crew, the car was faultless.”
Next on the agenda for Jacobson is the Gold Coast 600 starting on October 25.