Tony Bates has survived a challenging day aboard his KFC/Moveitnet/C-Tech Laser/B&B/Local Roadways Audi R8, to finish 10th outright and seventh in the GT Championship class, in the opening race at Sydney Motorsport Park today.
After qualifying ninth, Bates ran with the lead pack in the early stages, but his race unravelled shortly after his compulsory pit stop when he was unceremoniously turned around by another competitor at Turn 2.
“Today wasn’t ideal – the car balance wasn’t quite where we needed it to be, but we still had reasonable pace at the start of the race,” Bates said.
“After the incident at Turn 2, we fell away from the lead pack but at least we managed to finish in a reasonable position.
“We accumulated a bundle of points today, but we’ll be working hard overnight to improve the car setup and look to contend for a stronger outright result tomorrow,” Bates concluded.
Two more Australian GT Championship races will be held tomorrow, at 12:25pm and 3:25pm.