Round 3 of the GT4 Australia Championship, and my first ever laps of Queensland Raceway. Did we deliver? Here's how it went.
Where We Left Off
The Bend handed us twelve points and two big drives that took everything we had. The pace was never the question - both races the Mustang was hauling. But the points came the hard way, and two rounds in the pattern kept repeating: fast car, points on the board, but not the results this pace has earned.
Queensland Raceway was next, and we went there hungry to finally convert.
Heading Into the Round
Honestly? I rolled into this one feeling really positive. Queensland was already a place I was excited for, racing or otherwise. I'd never driven the circuit, but I'd been to the Gold Coast as a kid and those memories stuck with me.
So we made a point of getting there early. Dad and I spent some time on the coast, a day at Movie World, all round an awesome time across the ditch. Safe to say the Gold Coast has a new fan. Then it was time to get to work.
Practice
Practice was a tricky one. We rolled into Friday with me having never even seen the circuit. No allocated track walk either, so I was going in blind. Not the easiest way to start a weekend, and it made the two Friday sessions count for a lot.
I jumped in after Cooper with twenty minutes to learn an entire track from scratch, and the bumps of Queensland Raceway took me by surprise. For Practice 2 we gave the car a bit of a tune up, and it showed - we nudged our pace forward and started to feel more at home. There was still plenty to find, but we knew exactly where it was.
Qualifying
After a big overnight effort from me and the team to get the car where it needed to be, we rolled out Saturday morning with a fresh setup underneath us and a set of green tyres to make the most of. Fifteen minutes to get it done.
The plan was simple: get a clean run, stay out of traffic, and put the lap in when the tyre was at its best. We nailed the first part - found a good gap on track, clear air, no one in the way. The tyre was so close, but the window was thin at QR, and I missed it by about a lap, setting my best time just after the peak. Even so, it was enough for P6 and the number one Mustang at the event.
Third row of the grid, and a spot we could build a race from. I'll take that. Then it was eyes forward to the night race.
Race 1 - Under Lights
Into the night. A first for me, and I'd been buzzing for it all weekend. There's nothing quite like racing under lights.
We lined up P6 on the outside of the grid, with the run down to Turn 1 in front of us. Turn 1 at Queensland Raceway is bumpy, and it's got a reputation for first-lap chaos. So when we came back around at the end of lap one with the car still clean, I'll happily admit we got a bit lucky. We dropped a spot, but the car had pace, and we were straight back up to P6.
The safety car came out around the twenty minute mark, and the crew did a great job - we came out of the stop in P5. Cooper jumped in and went straight to work off the restart, driving the car up to P3.
I was hyped. I thought we were on for a podium. And I wanted it.
Then the luck ran out. We got hit and turned, and it put a hole in the side of the door. Lose the bodywork and you lose the aero with it, so the car dropped back a few spots on impact and moved backwards from there to the flag. P9, and two points on the board, but nowhere near what that run to P3 deserved.
Race 2
The grid walk and signing session this weekend were awesome. Having that many fans turn out and get amongst it was so cool, and that kind of support means loads.
Cooper took the start this time. P12, outside of the grid again, and another clean getaway. He was moving forward fast and I was loving watching it. The opening stint was a cracker - he carved the car up to P5 outright, and held P3 in Silver for a moment.
Then the brake issues started to creep in. I watched him run wide through Turn 3 and wondered if the heat was getting to him. Then I got in at P8, and two corners later I fired it off at the exact same place.
I was straight on the radio with no clue what had happened, head racing, trying to work out what the brakes were doing. Bit by bit I found a way to manage it, and as the race went on the problem came right. We'd dropped to 15th after my off, but by the end I was lapping as the fastest Mustang, and dragged it back to P10. One valuable point for the championship.
It felt great to know we had that pace, but it also sucked knowing the two offs had cost us around thirty seconds we were never getting back. After the race we found the cause: a slight fault in the front left caliper. No fault of the team, no fault of Ford. That's racing.
Looking to Darwin
Three rounds in, and one thing isn't up for debate: the #95 Mustang is fast. We've shown it everywhere we've been - Phillip Island, The Bend, and now Queensland, where we were the quickest Mustang on the grid and ran inside the top three before the luck turned.
What's left is converting it. And right now I want that result more than anything.
I couldn't be more excited for Darwin. The heat? Maybe not so much. But give me a fast race car and a clean run at it, and that's all I'm asking for. We've built something strong. Now I just want the weekend where it all falls our way and we bring home the result this car deserves.
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