Tony Bates has encountered a frustrating day at the Australian Grand Prix today, finishing 23rd in Race 2, Round 2 of the Australian GT Championship.
Starting fourth on the grid in his Moveitnet/C-Tech Laser/Transtex/Bryant & Bryant Mercedes-AMG GT3, Bates made a quick getaway from the rolling start, passing former team mate Geoff Emery to move into third position.
However, his race became unstuck at turn 3 when he braked off the racing line to avoid making contact with the car ahead. He ran into the gravel trap and fell to the rear of the field.
Bates staged a determined comeback and climbed to 15th position before another incident at turn 11 on the penultimate lap saw him falling back to 23rd.
“It obviously wasn’t my day today – there were a couple of minor issues which had big consequences,” Bates said.
“The most frustrating aspect of the day was I knew we had good pace; the Eggleston Motorsport Mercedes was running really well, as demonstrated by how easily I was able to carve my way through the field.
“At least the car is in one piece, but we’ll be looking for a much better result tomorrow.”
Bates will start 14th on the grid for Race 3, which kicks off at 12:05 tomorrow. It will include both Pro and Am drivers, and will be shown live on Channel 10.
