After showing great speed — especially in qualifying — across the first four stages of the 10-event iRacing series, the Shepparton product has come unstuck in a number of reverse-grid races.
With less experienced iRacers leading the way in those battles, chaos has ensued as drivers look to push their way through the pack and back to the top of the table to snare a better position for the following race.
Jacobson has managed to keep fighting though, currently sitting 10th in the championship for Matt Stone Racing — 100 points from fifth position.
Action heads to Belgium and Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps tonight — with Germany's Nurburgring dropped from the schedule — and will be comprised of three races.
While the second race will still be a reverse-grid contest from race one — of which starting positions will ultimately be decided by a top 10 shootout — the make-up of the longer third race will be decided by cumulative points from the first two battles.
It means there will be less panic in the second stanza of the evening as drivers at the back of the grid will already have plenty of points banked.
“The reverse-grid races — from a competitive point of view — weren't working in my favour,” Jacobson said.
“There's a lot of carnage at the back and people were gaining massive rewards for finishing at the back of the first race and then being up the front for the following ones.
“Like any championship, though, some fine-tuning was always going to happen at some stage and I think this will suit me a bit more.
“Previously those reverse-grids were just about staying out of trouble, but now I might be able to be a bit more aggressive and race a lot harder because you can have confidence that the guy you're about to pass actually knows you're there and isn't about to accidentally take you out.”
Spa's lap length was a deciding factor in keeping its circuit as the sole venue for tonight's round, with more opportunity for strategy to come into play.
And a reliance on strategy is fine with Jacobson, after working closely with his engineering department to claim a pair of top 10 finishes and an 11th among last week's four-race event.
“I've really enjoyed this circuit, Spa is a track I haven't actually raced at before, so I'm quite excited,” Jacobson said.
“There's such a rich history there and I've found that really cool to explore.
“So far there hasn't been much fuel pitting at all, it's been mostly short races with one stop for tyres.
“Now in the third race this round I can really work with my engineer on fuel numbers as I would in my actual car.
“The slipstream effect, where you can conserve fuel behind someone in the straights and then leapfrog them in the pits with a shorter fuel stop, will be just one of the things that adds a bit more detail and strategy.”
The next step for the Sheppartonian is to move from the edge of the top 10 into its heart.
“I've been a little bit closer to the top guys in the rehearsals,” Jacobson said.
“I really want to challenge myself to do better, to try and get up into seventh and above.
“Being in the top 10 in the championship is something I haven't experienced before at this level being a rookie, so it's a great challenge to be mixing it with the top guys.
“I'm working extra hard and enjoying the grind of training every day, and hopefully we can finish the second half of the series even better than we've started.”
Qualifying begins at 5.50 pm with racing kicking off at 7.15 pm, which will include two eight-lap contests with one stop followed by a 14-lap grind with two stops.
“A massive thank you to everyone that has supported me, I really appreciate it,” Jacobson said.
“Bring on round five.”
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