Taking full advantage of their home track, RAM Motorsport rumbled through to take the Am-Class victory in the three-hour Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS endurance race at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Drivers Michael Sheargold and Garth Walden stepped up in front of their local crowd, starting in qualifying to not only lead the Am-Class but to secure outright pole position for the evening’s race.
“Qualifying was great. I did a PB, which was good enough to get us into Super Pole,” said Sheargold.
“And then Garth did a ripper job in Super Pole to put the car on pole outright.
“Garth always seems to thrive in these short, high-pressure sessions.”
Despite being the first car on track during Super Pole, Walden’s lap stood up to the challenge of the other ten competitors to claim pole position for the duo.
Starting in front of the pro-am class drivers, the team had their work cut out for them early in the race.
“It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride, to be honest,” said Sheargold.
“My first stint went mostly to plan. I handed the car over to Garth in one piece.
“Our car set-up was optimised for a little later in the race, so I struggled to find a rhythm early and lost a few more places than we would have liked.
“But that wasn’t our biggest hurdle. The extra pit stop for the puncture in Garth’s stint really put us on the back foot.
“The cool thing about endurance racing is you’re always in it, and the crew did a great job to keep us on the lead lap and then work the strategy to keep us in contention.
“I was much happier with my second stint, and Garth did an awesome job to finish the race and take the class win.”
Against the full professional drivers, Sheargold and Walden ended up sixth overall, but well ahead of their Am-Class rivals for the class win.
The victory, combined with his result in the Bathurst 12 Hour earlier in the year, was enough for Walden to secure the GT World Challenge Australia Endurance Am-Class title.
“Super happy to grab the class win late in the race for the team and Mike,” Walden added.
“The car was fast all weekend, and our team did an amazing job. It was just a bonus to secure the Endurance Championship.
“There are a few people that helped me secure it, going back to the Bathurst 12 Hour with the MMotorsport team and drivers and then our team and Mike here in Sydney.
“It feels a bit odd, to be honest, with driving with different teams and drivers, and for me to win the Championship on my own just doesn't feel right.”
Despite the added pressure, Sheargold was ecstatic to contribute to the Walden title.
“I was just really happy to support Garth to help him secure the GT World Challenge Australia Am-Class endurance title,” Sheargold continued.
“It was great to secure the class win after such an eventful race.”
“Especially with our local Sydney-based supporters at the track.”
As always, Michael would like to extend his thanks to all of RAM Motorsport’s partners and supporters, including Oilstar Racing Brake Fluid, Royal Purple, Quest Apartments, Dexion Victoria, Alex Bryden Architecture, Ready Set Redline, Omologato Watches, Purfit covers and Kase Building & Restoration Group.
Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS will return for the final round of the season at Mount Panorama on November 8-10 for the Bathurst International.