RAM Motorsport has secured its best-ever round result at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit after picking up two Am Class podiums at the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS’ most recent round.
With Michael Sheargold and Garth Walden targeting a consistent weekend in the series’ return to the famous Victorian circuit, they managed to deliver an almost perfect run of results - guiding the Mercedes-AMG GT3 to a win and runner-up finish.
Although the car faced some issues in Qualifying, a brilliant lap from Walden helped the team secure pole position for the weekend’s first race.
Unfortunately, the pair lost their lead during the opening outing’s pit cycles and were unable to recover, crossing the line in second. Starting from further down the field in the second race, the duo bounced back strongly after a good strategy and multiple safety car interventions helped them move up the order.
Gaining the lead on Lap 26, the RAM Motorsport Mercedes AMG GT3 eventually crossed the finish line in top spot for the class.
“The car wasn’t very nice to drive in qualifying; it had heaps of understeer, meaning we couldn't extract the pace from the car we had in practice,” said Walden.
“The RAM Motorsport/GWR crew did a great job to make a bunch of changes to dial out the issue and leave us with a comfortable race car with good race pace for the rest of the weekend.”
The successful weekend finally put an end to a disappointing run of results at the circuit for the team - leaving Sheargold thrilled with the pair’s progress and event as a whole.
“Certainly dusted off our Phillip Island hoodoo,” said Sheargold after the weekend.
“In fact, I think that was our best full weekend as a driver pairing since joining GT World Challenge. A second and a win was a great result for the team.
“Hats off to SRO for their first promoted event in Australia. (There were) lots of activations and lots of spectators. It’s great for the category, sponsors and the organisation.”
The Fanatec GT World Challenge now has an extended break before heading to Sydney Motorsport Park for Race Sydney on October 18-21.
