With the highly anticipated Supercheap Auto Bathurst International just over a month away, a handful of Shannons SpeedSeries drivers were lucky enough to get some extra track time at Mount Panorama last weekend in one of the biggest motorsport events of the year.
Headlining the list of Shannons SpeedSeries regulars was reigning Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series winner, Tony D’Alberto, who found himself on the Bathurst 1000 podium after a brilliant performance alongside full-time driver, Anton De Pasquale.
The Dick Johnson Racing duo looked strong all weekend, qualifying in fifth before inserting themselves as podium contenders for the vast majority of the 161-lap race.
National Trans Am Series regulars, James Moffat and Tyler Everingham, also featured in the 60-year celebration – with the latter securing the better result of the two thanks to an inspiring performance.
Starting from the rear of the grid, Everingham put in a fantastic early stint to make up a handful of places before the 22-year-old handed the reigns back to Declan Fraser, the duo eventually finished 18th overall.
Unfortunately, a great weekend to date for Cam Waters and Moffat went down the drain when the Trans Am series leader hit the wall on lap 70 and was forced to retire the car as a result.
There were a number of Shannons SpeedSeries representatives in the support categories across the weekend.
In what was only his second meeting as a Dunlop Super2 Series star, Aaron Cameron was once again impressive on the national stage after finishing fourth place outright for the weekend.
The Schramm Group Racing entry finished in sixth place in race one, before dropping to seventh in the second and final outing.
Not far behind was Lochie Dalton, who swapped a Ford Trans Am for a Holden Commodore that saw him finish sixth outright.
Image: Brad Jones racing
Another Trans Am representative, Nash Morris also featured in the Dunlop Series but wasn’t able to make an impact in the outright standings after having to retire due to an issue to his World Gym Racing Commodore in race one.
Additionally, two non-full-time drivers, Ronan Murphy and Tom Oliphant joined the support category rounds with the primary goal of gaining valuable experience on the iconic circuit ahead of the Supercheap Auto Bathurst International event.
Oliphant might not have achieved impressive results on paper in Haltech V8 SuperUtes Series, but being the sole British driver on the TCR Australia grid, every lap completed carried significant importance.
On the other hand, Murphy secured the 16th position overall in the Precision National Sports Sedans, marking his inaugural experience at this renowned track.
Driving the MARC Ford Focus, the New Zealand racer displayed competitiveness consistently and intends to apply the insights he gained in the upcoming Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia season finale in November.
Drivers will now turn their focus to the back-to-back Shannons SpeedSeries rounds at Race Sydney and Supercheap Auto Bathurst International rounds in November.
Race Sydney will take place at Sydney Motorsport Park on 3-4 November, before Supercheap Auto Bathurst International takes place at Mount Panorama the following week on 10-12 November.
