RAM Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 driver Mike Sheargold has confirmed he will compete in Round 5 of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS at Queensland Raceway, despite currently undergoing a chemotherapy cycle as part of his bowel cancer recovery process.
While Sheargold admitted the chemo took its toll in the early stages, a rapid improvement in his health over the last few days has given him the confidence to return to the driver’s seat alongside his regular sidekick Garth Walden.
“Chemo can be a brutal process and on the weekend, I was feeling pretty average, but then I got better really quickly, so I madly started booking flights to Queensland!” Sheargold said.
“The surgery was successful in removing the bowel cancer, so I’m doing the chemo process as a preventative measure, to minimise the chances of the cancer ever returning.”
Sheargold is now focused on securing on-track results commensurate with the potential shown by the team in the first four rounds.
“So far this season, we’ve had patches of good form, especially at Phillip Island and Sydney Motorsport Park, but we’ve also had some bad luck which has prevented us from maximising our points haul,” Sheargold said.
“Phillip Island was a great example – we won the first race, but in the second race Garth was involved in a minor incident that did just enough damage to the radiator to put us out of the race.
“At Sydney Motorsport Park, we also had a strong run in Race 1 but then I struggled with the balance of the car during my stint in Race 2.
“Hopefully this weekend it all comes together and we can bring home some silverware.”
The RAM Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 will again be presented in the Bowel Cancer Australia livery this weekend, with the N2YGT3 fundraising initiative concluding early next week. So far, N2YGT3 has raised over $143,000 for the Bowel Cancer Australia foundation, pushing towards the target of $150,000. “We’re very close to our target, and this weekend we’ll be making one final push for people to donate to the cause and enable us to achieve our goal,” Sheargold said.
This weekend’s two GT World Challenge Australia races will be shown live on Stan Sport as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries coverage, with Saturday's race also live on 9Go! around Australia.