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How Closest Rivals Helped Hodges, Ojeda to Second 6 Hour Victory
Reigning Bathurst 6 Hour champions Simon Hodges and Jayden Ojeda found themselves in a world of trouble the night before the 2024 Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour.
The combination that had won in 2023 thanks to a brilliant stint from Ojeda had encountered mechanical difficulties on Saturday, and were no certainties to make the grid to defend their 6 Hour crown.
Enter Beric Lynton, who would end up being the biggest threat to Hodges and Ojeda’s quest for back-to-back Bathurst wins, alongside new recruit for 2024 George Miedecke.
As Ojeda reflected post-race, “I have to say a massive thank you to Beric and the team at Bruce Lynton Service. We threw a diff out yesterday, and they stepped in and provided us with one, so without them we wouldn’t be here today. It was great sportsmanship on their behalf, and it ultimately gave us a great car today.”
Indeed, it would be Lynton’s co-driver who was leading the race inside the final half an hour when a gearbox gremlin allowed Ojeda through to the lead, denying Davison a first 6 Hour win, and Lynton and Tim Leahey their second 6 Hour win.
Ojeda was quick to acknowledge the pace of the Lynton BMW post-race.
“I don’t think we had the quickest car like we did last year when it came to race pace, but we just played the race really well. It was unfortunate for Beric, Tim, and Will that they had the problems they had.”
For car owner Hodges, who alongside Ojeda became the first back-to-back winners of the 6 Hour, the performance comes as proof that 2023 was not a one-off.
“It’s an amazing feeling, we’ve been working since last year for this. I never take anything for granted, but this is an amazing feeling,” He said.
Hodges was once again full of praise for Ojeda, who diced his way through traffic in the second half of the race to put the Secure Wealth Advisers BMW M4 into a position to challenge for the win.
“He’s shown with all his GT work that he’s not just a good driver, he’s a world-class driver. He’s helped us develop this car over the past three to four years and he deserves all of the accolades that he gets.”
The winning combination from last year added a third dimension to the equation for the 2024 event, with George Miedecke transferring from a Class A2 Ford Mustang to the Class X BMW M4 this year.
“I knew before joining the team this year that they were a good operation and did a fantastic job last year. When we knew that we weren’t running the Mustang again I managed to get a hold of Simon’s number and gave him a call.”
Changing a winning formula didn’t prove an easy task however, as Hodges wanted to ensure that everyone in the Secure Wealth Advisers team had a say in whether Miedecke would be hired or not.
“Simon is very protective of his team, when I spoke to him about joining, his first thought was to go back to the team and see what they thought. They had a meeting, checked my resume, and I got the nod. I knew straight away that it was a quick car, and that if luck went our way we’d have a good day.”
With the Bathurst 6 Hour crown successfully defended, attention will now turn to whether or not Hodges and Ojeda can claim an unprecedented third consecutive 6 Hour victory in 2025, something the young Sydneysider is keen to accomplish.
“It only makes sense, I think it would be unfortunate if we didn’t go for the three-peat.”