It was a successful second round of GT World Challenge Australia at The Bend Motorsport Park, which saw RAM Motorsport add to its trophy cabinet.
Cool wintery conditions in regional South Australia didn’t deter the Sydney-based squad, who took their time warming up. Building up throughout the weekend to claim the victory in the second hour-long race of the weekend.
The cooler temps played a particular role in Saturday’s early morning qualifying sessions.
“It was really cold, so I took my time getting the car and tyres up to temp. And then I didn’t get a gap towards the end of the session to set a representative time,” said Michael Sheargold.
“That said, Garth did a sensational job in the second session, putting us in P2 overall.”
A front-row start in Saturday afternoon’s opening race of the weekend saw Garth Walden lead the charge, not only leading the Am Class in the early stages but the entire field with the pro drivers sitting out the first stint of the race.
With the pro drivers taking over during the pitstops, the RAM Motorsport Mercedes AMG started to drop down the overall standings but maintained the Am Class lead until an incident on the final lap of the race.
Unfortunately, contact on the run to the flag saw the AMG spin and drop down to finish third in class.
“Garth shot out of the blocks, took the lead, and gave us a nice gap,” said Sheargold after the race.
“The idea was for me to jump in and hopefully let the pros weave their way back through and hold the lead in the Am Class.”
“Unfortunately, we had contact on the very last lap while still in the lead, which sent us spinning, which dropped us down to the third.”
After an early morning go-kart race on Sunday, a refreshed and rejuvenated RAM Motorsport crew took an inspired approach to the second race of the weekend.
With a clear target in mind, the race win. The team took a calculated approach to ensure the race victory to round out the weekend.
“In Race 2, I had a job to do, which was to stay out of trouble. I did pretty well since there was trouble on the opening lap, and I went from sixteenth to ten,” said Sheargold.
“I wasn’t able to maintain that position the rest of the stint but kept hitting our lap time targets to put us in a spot to win once Garth got in.”
“We thought it might have been a bridge too far, but Garth managed to reel everyone in and got us the win, which is the first one we’ve had since 2022.”
Sheargold was happy with the team's strong showing at The Bend Motorsport Park and is looking forward to building upon the result for the remainder of the season.
“Good to be back on the top step of the podium,” Sheargold continued.
“I think that puts us out front in the championship.
“It’s not a big lead, and there are still quite a few rounds to go, so there is still lots to play for. But happy to be up the pointy end and looking forward to the next round.”
Sheargold and Walden hold a narrow three-point advantage at the top of the Am Class standings after two rounds of the series.
The team will now prepare for the next GT World Challenge Australia round at Queensland Raceway, August 2-4.
As always, Michael would like to extend his thanks to all of RAM Motorsport’s partners and supporters, including Oilstar Racing Brake Fluid, Jayco Sydney, Royal Purple, Quest Apartments, Dexion Victoria, Alex Bryden Architecture, Ready Set Redline, Omologato watches and Purfit covers.