Chelsea Angelo is eager to bounce back following a smash at Sandown, setting her sights on a strong performance at Phillip Island.
Flashback to the second race of the Porsche GT3 Michelin Challenge in the Shannons Nationals at Sandown – Angelo was building on her brilliant second place in race one closing down leader Simon Fallon before disaster struck.
An awkward turn saw the 21-year-old lose control of the car and head straight into the wall – the Porsche in tatters and Angelo’s day over.
Fortunately, she came away from the accident unscathed, but mentally, it was a tough pill to swallow.
All that hard work from qualifying and her first race was undone as she had to sit in the stands and watch Cooper Murray eventually overtake Fallon to win his first race of the season – a win that could have potentially been hers.
Two weeks later, and with some time to reflect, Angelo was in good spirits ahead of the Shannons Nationals third round at Phillip Island on 1-3 June.
“I’m actually up and about and feeling really good now,” Angelo said.
“The accident wasn’t a happy outcome but now the boys are fixing up the car to be ready for Phillip Island.
“It hasn’t had an effect on me. You can’t go into motor sport naive and thinking it’s never going happen to you.
“Things like that happen so hopefully we can get out there do what we did at Sandown again in terms of high performance and results.”
The focus was now on making sure she was ready to race, and with a new shell having arrived from Germany this week, things look to be on schedule – Angelo with full faith in her dedicated team.
“They have been prepping up the parts and accessories onto the new chassis,” Angelo added.
“Hopefully they will get it done by the end of this week and it will be loaded into the truck and heading off to Phillip island.
“I have trust and faith in the boys to get the car sorted for next weekend’s round.”
With a freshly rebuilt car, Phillip Island will be the perfect place for Angelo to return and build on her already impressive 2018 season.
Angelo goes to the famous Grand Prix track with lots of experience including stints in the Dunlop Super2 Series and Formula 3, where she broke a lap record.
Despite her accident, an unfazed Angelo remains adamant that it won’t change the way she drives.
“I think this weekend will be business as usual at Phillip Island,” Angelo added.
“I am going into Phillip Island more confident than I was at Sandown.”
Angelo currently sits in seventh place in the Porsche GT3 Michelin Challenge with 154 points, while leader Cooper Murray (281 points) occupies top spot.
The Porsche GT3 Michelin Challenge is one of the four categories at the upcoming Shannons Nationals at Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit on 1 -3 June, with live coverage of Sunday’s session once again to be available for viewing via speedseries.com.au.
Tickets are available for purchase at the gate.