TPS Group/Breeze Holdiay Parks Brett Holdsworth has set his sights on even greater accomplishments after a long-awaited return to the National Trans Am Series podium at Sandown International Raceway last weekend.
The 42-year-old was in fine form at the popular Victorian circuit, picking up his first podium finish since Phillip Island in May while also amassing another two top 10 finishes.
An unfortunate red flag in qualifying earlier in the weekend left the Queenslander starting in eighth which would also be his finishing position after the first race early Saturday afternoon.
In Race 2, Holdsworth quickly made his way into the top five runners before taking advantage of an incident ahead to move into third.
While second place was up for grabs late in the race, the Queenslander would ultimately have to settle for the final spot on the podium after a strong drive.
Holdsworth was excited to return to the podium but admitted he has greater desires for the final two rounds of the season in November.
“The car was phenomenal in Race 2, we had a lot of pace and there was definitely a second place on the cards if we had started further forward,” Holdsworth explained.
“It’s always exciting to get a podium, but there’s still a lot of desire to be even better and get up on the round podium which has so far eluded us.”
The final race of the weekend didn’t go Holdsworth’s way after a drive through penalty halted his charge back into the top three places.
But despite the setback, the impressive results across the entire weekend saw Holdsworth promoted to sixth in the overall standings.
“I was still strong in the final race, but with just one fresh tyre I didn’t have the turn that I needed to keep some of the others behind,” Holdsworth explained.
“I certainly didn’t feel I could have prevented that contact (that resulted in the penalty) after I was squeezed on to the kerbs. Once I got up there the car just bounced straight ahead.
“The story is similar to what we’ve had all year, Phillip Island aside, where we haven’t got qualifying right and that has left us playing catchup all round.
“Oddly enough despite the tricky year we’ve had, we are clawing our way back to that third place in the series which is where we want to be.
“If we can qualify well at Eastern Creek and Bathurst then we’ll absolutely be a top three car in the races, and we can go trophy hunting.”
The National Trans Am Series will return for the final two rounds of its exciting 2023 season in November, kicking off with Race Sydney on 3-4 November before Supercheap Auto Bathurst International on 10-12 November.
Tickets for both events are available for purchase at motorsporttickets.com.au.
