MOTOR SPORT
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IT is lucky that Bathurst driver Brad Shiels likes a challenge, because that is exactly what he will get this weekend at Phillip Island when he makes his return to GT racing.
Shiels will face two different events in as many days on a track which places plenty of physical demands on a driver, while the AMAC Racing Porsche 911 GT3R he will share with owner Andrew Macpherson will test him as well.
“It’s going to be a bit of a challenge as the rest of the field are in newer cars, ours is about three years old now,” Shiels said.
“The newer cars are a lot faster than ours, ours is probably the oldest in the field. It’s one second up to two seconds differential in speed per lap.”
Shiels and Macpherson will be contesting the outright class in both the two one-hour races which will make up the fourth round of the Australian GT Sprint Series today and in tomorrow’s 101-lap Australian Endurance Championship series opener.
Competition in both series is expected to be stiff and Shiels’ driver ranking means he will face a time handicap during pit stops.
However, he knows what the Porsche he will steer is capable of given it is the same car AMAC Racing used in the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hour.
“Obviously I did the whole of last season in this car in the Australian GT, it is the same car we had at the Bathurst 12 Hour. So I am quite comfortable with this car, so hopefully that helps. We’ll see how we go, but hopefully we can have a consistent race,” he said.
“My ranking as a driver has gone up, they have their own internal ranking in GT and I am a Pro3, so I am ranked pretty highly, I am up there with some pretty good guys.
“But it works against me too in a way because I have to sit a bit longer in the pits and when you’ve got a slower car, that hurts.”
Given Shiels’ ranking, he can do no more than 55 per cent of the laps in each race, but he said he and Macpherson split the duties evenly between themselves anyway. The physical demands of the 4.445 kilometre track makes that tactic a smart move.
“Phillip Island is a pretty demanding track, it’s very fast, it’s got no real slow corners and there is a lot of g-force on the body,” Shiels said.
“We are pulling consistently 3G around the corners because they are very long, fast, flowing corners. It’s a lot of force on the body ... due to the lateral g-force it’s very hard on your head and neck.
“Obviously any race you are going to be contesting is going to be tough and physically demanding, but I’m looking forward to it.”
The Bathurst talent has driven at Phillip Island twice before and enjoyed a measure of success. He claimed pole position in his maiden appearance and in last year’s round two Australian GT race at the track, he ran in the top 10 all day.
“This is the third time Andrew and I will have raced together at Phillip Island and we’ve had a couple of good weekends there before, so hopefully we can do well again,” Shiels said.
“It’s up there with one of my favourite tracks, it’s always good to drive at tracks you like to race on because you tend to go a bit better.”