Tony Bates has miraculously escaped severe damage in Race 2, Round 2 of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS at Carco.com.au Raceway, after he was carted into a high-speed excursion by a tap from another competitor.
Bates had been running fourth at the time and was on target to cap off a strong weekend for himself and Jordan Love when the incident occurred at Turn 4.
“I thought I was going into the wall for sure,” a relieved Bates said.
“Through that section of the track, the cars are on the limit and it only takes slight contact to unsettle the car – this was quite a hard hit.
“Fortunately I kept it off the wall but it was frustrating, because we were going to score a decent result.”
The incident saw Bates falling to eighth, with he and Love ending up seventh overall in the C-Tech Laser/Makita Mercedes-AMG GT3, on a weekend where Bates conceded they lacked the outright pace of the front-runners.
“To be honest, the characteristics of the Wanneroo track don’t suit the Mercedes as well as some of the other circuits on the GT calendar,” Bates said.
“Jordan, myself and the entire Ash Seward Motorsport team worked hard all weekend to improve the car, and we were gradually moving forward in each session, which made the Race 2 incident all the more disappointing.”
“The good news is the car is in one piece, so I’ll be looking to accumulate some more track time over the next few months to ensure I’m well prepared ahead of my next round,” Bates concluded.
Round Results Summary
Qualifying 1: 10th
Qualifying 2: 3rd
Race 1: 6th
Race 2: 8th
Overall: 7th
