Monochrome GT4 Australia Series leader Shane Smollen has acquired the services of Supercheap Auto TCR Australia star Lachlan Mineeff for the highly anticipated round at Queensland Raceway this month.
Mineeff will get behind the wheel of the successful Porsche Cayman 718 alongside Smollen – who has been dominating the combined Mobil 1 Australian Production Car Series and Monochrome GT4 Australia field all season long.
Not only will this be the first time Mineeff has competed in the category, but it will also be the first time he has raced in a factory Porsche entry after having his first test day in the car only recently.
The addition of the up-and-coming star adds even more firepower to the already stacked Fight in the Night race, where the duo will alternate driving duties under the lights for two hours of action-packed racing on Saturday night.
“I’m here to do a job, we need to keep Shane’s record up and ensure he has a good round in the series”
Mineeff was looking forward to driving alongside Smollen and was impressed with the car following his test runs.
“It’s going to be really good; it’s obviously going to be busy with TCR duties as well but I’m really looking forward to it,” Mineeff said.
“I have never done two categories in a race weekend before, but with GT4 going into the night it will give me plenty of time during the day to cater for both, the schedule works perfectly.
“I met Shane (Smollen) through a mutual contact, and he is very experienced and a really nice guy, everything I have ever had to do with him has been very impressive and I’m very thankful for the opportunity.
“I have never driven or raced a GT4 much before. We did a test day at QR recently and that went really well. It’s been a little while since I have raced a rear wheel drive in anger, there are obviously a lot of differences to TCR, but at the same time there are a lot of similarities.
“It is everything you would expect with a factory-built Porsche, everything down to the air conditions is so driver friendly.”
Mineeff won’t be the only SpeedSeries regular to join the category next weekend, with National Trans Am Series Phillip Island round winner Nash Morris bound for a run in the Mercedes AMG GT piloted by Mark Griffith.
The Queenslander joins the field off the back of a successful run in the category last time out at Sydney Motorsport Park where he picked up his first category race win.
With Morris getting a taste of racing under the lights at the Eastern Creek circuit, he, alongside Griffith, is certain to be a serious contender to Smollen and Mineeff in the fan-favourite race as well as the fight for Queensland Raceway round honours.
Within all the excitement, Mineeff was wary of the challenges a night race at Queensland Raceway might present.
“I’m here to do a job, we need to keep Shane’s record up and ensure he has a good round in the series,” Mineeff explained.
“With guys like Nash (Morris) and Ryder (Quinn), It’s not going to be easy, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.
“I’ve done a bit of racing under the lights in the past, we did a TCR night practice and that was a good reference for us, but I’ve also had a couple of meetings at Sydney Motorsport Park, where it’s not quite as bright at QR but with having so many cars on the circuit there should be a lot more light than usual.
“Fight in the Night is a very exciting race to be a part of, I watched it when I was there last year and now that GT4 is a part of it, everything has worked out perfectly.”
The combined Mobil 1 Australian Production Car Series and Monochrome GT4 Australia Series will take the track at Queensland Raceway on 11-13 August.