AS Todd Hazelwood embarks on the new Supercars season he has a focus on greater consistency, but the Brad Jones Racing driver admits better luck would not go astray either.
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While racing incidents are part of the sport, BJR did seem to suffer from more dramas than other teams in 2020. The Bathurst 1000 was a prime example as Nick Percat was disqualified from fourth place in the shootout for his car being under weight and in the race itself battled mechanical issues.
Macauley Jones' car was black flagged as its driver's side door kept opening, before it was involved in a crash with BJR team-mate Jack Smith. As for Hazelwood, his race was over on lap 50 after his co-driver Jordan Boys crashed.
"What transpired on the Sunday of the Bathurst 1000 last year, I don't think anyone would have predicted our bad luck, it was very disappointing," Hazelwood said.
"I feel like we had our fair share of bad luck last year, I never believed in luck until last year. They always say you make your own luck, but last year genuinely felt like there was something, there was nothing we could get away with, if there was something that could happen it did happen.
"But I feel like this season we've prepared better than ever and hopefully turn our form around and if we had a few things go our way it would be nice."
Hazelwood finished the 2020 season 17th in the championship, his highlight a third at Sydney Motorsport Park and a pole position at Townsville.
But this season he has the same chassis for the second year in a row for the first time since joining the Supercars series as a full-time driver. Hazelwood is also armed with what he learned over the past 12 months.
He feels that can help him turn potential into consistently stronger results, starting with the season-opening Bathurst 500.
"We were flying by the seat of our pants at every event we went to last year, but now we've got a good knowledge and understanding of what the car does, how to get the best out of the package week-in and week-out, I think we're in a lot better position now to be more consistent," the 25-year-old said.
"We had a lot of potential last year and we had glimpses of results and podiums, but it was far too inconsistent for my liking ... to start the season with the bank of knowledge I have now, that is absolutely key to getting success in the Supercars championship.
"The last four years I've driven five different chassis, so I'm actually looking forward to driving the same car for once. That will be a massive benefit."
Hazelwood will get his first chance to do a racing lap of Mount Panorama come noon today, with the Supercars to hit the track for the opening one-hour practice session.
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