Garth Walden Racing drivers Cameron Crick and Rob Woods will enter this weekend’s Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge Australia second round full of high hopes after a mixed first outing at Symmons Plains in March.
It’s been an intense few weeks for Crick and his preparation after the GWR team were forced to re-shell his 991 Cup Car between rounds after he was part of an unfortunate incident on the start line in the season opener.
While the team was able to get the car back on track and help the New South Welshmen to seventh place in the second race of the weekend, a post-event inspection uncovered more significant damage, prompting the significant change.
Despite the car undergoing a complete makeover, Crick is confident it is ready to go and he can get his season back on track.
“After the crash in Tassie, the crew did a sensational job to get me back on track, especially considering the force of the impact,” Crick said.
“The car didn’t quite feel 100 per cent though, and when we got it back to the work shop and investigated, we discovered a lot of damage to the left-rear, which meant we had to get a new shell.
“Once again, the GWR team have put in a massive effort and I’m very grateful to them; hopefully I can return the favour by bringing home a strong result for them.
“This is my home round, a track where I’ve done a lot of laps, and it’s an important weekend for servicing my core sponsors, many of whom will be at the circuit this weekend.”
Crick’s teammate Woods is also hoping for a strong round in the Pro-Am class after finishing the opening round in eighth, however he will remain cautious throughout the round after being involved in a serious accident there last year.
“Going back to SMP where I had the big crash last June is daunting, but I’ve put all that behind me,” Woods added.
“We tested there a couple of weeks ago and I felt really comfortable in the car, the boys did a few setup changes during the morning and the car felt really planted on track.
“My times were only slightly off where I have been, and I have being doing a lot of work going over footage.
“It will be the first weekend in nearly two years that I will have all my family there with my wife and two girls so that’s a big tick for me as well.”
This weekend’s Shannons Nationals will be quite busy for GWR, with the team involved in a further three categories outside the one-make series, with cars also entered in TCR Australia, Radical Cup Australia and the Australian Prototype Series.
Fans unable to attend Sydney Motorsport Park for the first round of the Shannons Nationals can stay updated through the live stream on thenationals.com.au.