What a busy round! Competing in two categories at Bathurst meant double practices, qualifying and races! It was a very chaotic weekend.

Fujitsu Series:

Qualifying: After being a little bit off the pace in the practice sessions, qualifying was going to be tough. With only 20 minutes of running time, there would only be enough time for 4 flying laps. After the first set of tyres, we made some minor changes in the pits and set out to post some quicker lap times. The changes made a big improvement but unfortunately it was not enough. Steve Owen set the fastest time, whilst I qualified 2nd. I was disappointed at not getting the Pole position but still happy with my time as I had beaten the previous practice record by 8 tenths of a second. Steve and I are now tied on the number of Pole positions for the year, meaning the overall Pole award will come down to the last round at Oran Park.

Race 1: I got off to a good start moving into first by the first turn. After the first lap I knew it was going to be a tough race. The car wasn’t handling as well as I needed it to and Jonathon Webb was hot on my tail. By the end of the second lap he had made his move and I dropped back to 2nd. After 3 safety car periods, the field had bunched up again. Steve Owen tried to make a pass on me but overshot and ran wide at the Chase dropping back to 4th. Jonathon took the race, whilst I finished in 2nd.

Race 2: Prior to the start of the race, the heavens opened and rain fell. But in typical Bathurst style – it was only in a small section of the track with the rain falling on the starting grid. The officials decided to start the race under safety car, definitely a good idea as we were unaware of the conditions at the top of the mountain. It turned out it was dry around most of the track so after 2 laps under safety car we went racing. The car was handling a lot better and had improved a lot where it had been struggling in race 1. I was able to stay on the back of Jonathon this time and put him under some pressure. On lap 4 I made my move up the inside and was able to pass him. Another 2 safety car periods followed bunching the field up each time. As the car was handling better I was able to keep everyone else behind me and go on to take the race win. A very good result especially as I set a new race record beating the old time by almost 3 tenths of a second. Jonathon finished the race in 2nd which meant that we ended on the same points. However, in the event of a tie on points, the round win goes to the person who finished the best in the last race which meant I took the round win. I also moved into 2nd in the Championship and took another 39 points off Steve Owen’s lead but not as many as I need as Steve still has a 255 point lead.

The last round of the series is at Oran Park on December 5th – 7th.

V8 Supercar Series:

For the second endurance race of the V8 Supercar series, I was driving the #5 car of FPR along side Luke Youlden.

Qualifying: After identical times in the practice sessions between Luke and myself, the engineers had a tough decision on who would qualify the car. It was almost a paper, scissors, rock decision but in the end they decided to let Luke do the job. After the first leg of qualifying we were comfortably in the 20. The team made some minor changes for the top 20 run. At the beginning of leg 2, Luke was sitting at the pointy end of the time sheet. The team threw some green tyres on to try and keep improving the time. After a superior effort we qualified in 16th.

The Big Race:

As Luke qualified the car, it was decided that I would start the race. After a shocking start, I dropped a couple of spots but after 3 laps it was evident that there was an issue with the car and we were going to have to make our first pit stop earlier than planned.

We made our first pit stop at lap 17 where we did tyres, fuel and a driver change as well as adjusting the roll centre to try and correct the issue with handling. Unfortunately, the roll centre adjuster in the window was jammed so the change didn’t have any affect. Luke went on to complete his first stint moving through the field.

Our 2nd pit stop was at lap 51 where we did tyres, fuel, brake pads and a driver change. This time the roll centre adjustment was done through the boot to make sure that the change was applied. Straight away it was evident that the car was a vastly improved but still not to 100%. I rejoined the field in 20th. After a fairly non-eventful stint, I was in 9th when we came into pit at lap 74 during a safety car period. This time we did tyres, fuel and a driver change as well as another roll centre adjustment.

Luke rejoined the field in 13th but drama struck during the safety car when the engine stopped leaving Luke stuck on the side of the track. It turned out to be a fuel pump failure but thankfully, under guidance from the engineers, he was able to switch to the reserve pump, reset the circuit breakers and get the car restarted. Due to this, Luke lost a number of positions, dropping him back to 20th.

After continuing on for around 14 laps, we pitted on lap 90 due to another safety car period just to do a splash of fuel and rejoin. Luke continued to work his way through the field and when he pitted at lap 106, he was in 2nd. This time we did tyres, fuel & a driver change.

I rejoined the field in 10th but immediately began to drop back as the engine was overheating due to debris in the radiator which meant a considerable loss in power. Getting fresh air wasn’t cooling the engine and I was unable to pass anyone. At lap 128, I pitted under safety car. At the time I was in 7th. This time we did tyres, fuel, driver change, brake pads as well as trying to clear the debris from the front of the car. There was only a small amount of plastic in the grill and Luke rejoined in 10th with the hopes that the engine overheating problem was solved. Immediately we were aware that there was still more debris as the temperature of the engine continued to climb, eventually getting to 130° at one point. The car continued to drop further and further back and it was evident that we were going to have to make one more stop. Luke pitted at lap 137 and the boys blew out the radiator with air hose to try and dislodge whatever was stuck.

Luke rejoined the field in 14th and immediately the temperature dropped and he was able to power on home, eventually finishing the car in 7th position. A very good result considering the dramas we had throughout the day.

Dean Canto