POLE POSITION AND AN EPIC BATTLE FOR THE WIN!

20 September 2016

I had to be quick off the mark in qualifying (Photo: Graeme Howie)

In qualifying, I started quickly out of the pits to try and build a gap behind me so that I had clear laps, and wasn’t giving away the tow (in my slipstream) to anyone behind me. This tactic worked as I qualified on pole by two tenths of a second with a 1:01.7 lap.

At the start of the first race I dropped to second place after a poor getaway off the line. However, I quickly made this place back after outbraking and overtaking around the outside of the final corner. This meant that I was on the outside for the following corner, so lost the position to second. The next lap I did the same, made a move around the outside of the final corner, but this time I managed to hold on to the position, and I held the lead. The next lap, I got overtaken via the draft down the back straight, I tried to defend, but I lost the position. We were battling like this the whole race, side-by-side more often than we were not! Even going two wide through the esses at one point! I got beaten at the last corner of the race though, where a small mistake under braking cost me a small amount of time, which was just enough to give away the win. I finished a very close second.

I started the second race from P2 on the grid, and I remained in second off the line and into the first corner. On the first lap, I decided not to make a move to try and pull away from the drivers behind us. On the second lap, I again outbraked and made a move around the outside of the final corner, and managed to hold the position. I led the next lap, and then the safety car was brought out due to a single-car incident at turn 6. The safety car was out for two laps, and the incident had left quite a bit of sand on the apex. I managed to hold the lead for the lap following the restart, until I was overtaken down the back straight. The sand on the track looked quite risky to go through so we were all running wide of the apex on turn 6. I quickly made this position back on the next lap and leading the race in the last lap, I decided to go through the sand. The others did not, and as a result I managed to pull a few car lengths of a gap, and held this to take my first race win!

Leading on the way to my first win on the track! (Photo: Graeme Howie)

I started the final race off pole, and dropped to second off the line. With me tied for the lead on points, I knew that I had to win this race to win the day. We must have changed the lead at least twice every lap, making moves into turn 1, turn 6, and on the inside and outside of turn 7. We were side-by-side for the majority of the race! No one was able to pull a gap, which meant either of us had the opportunity to take the win. Starting the final lap, I was in the lead, but we were quickly catching a slower, lap-down car. We caught him at the worst point of the lap, which held me up a bit, and meant that I lost the lead into the second last corner. I managed to get a better exit out of the corner, and we were side-by-side going into the final corner. I was on the outside. I broke a little later, and managed to just hold it around the outside to take the race win, and win the day!

It was an amazing day of racing and I am so pleased to have won the round. I must also congratulate Sam on incredibly hard, yet very clean racing which was very exciting to be a part of.

I would like to thank my sponsors Truck Dealers Australia, Edith Cowan University, ES2, Impressions the Home Builder, Grand Toyota, Rvend, Fullworks Fire Safety, Kingsway Community Bank Brach, Online Logistics Solutions, Signarama Joondalup and Focused Recruitment. Also to Marcel from F45 Hillarys, Trizone Fitness and Adam Wills for helping me to be as fit as I can be to race and Brett Lupton from Fastlane Racing for the huge amount of effort he puts into my development.

(Photo: Graeme Howie)