COME this Sunday Bathurst driver Brad Shiels will be looking to count his AMAC Motorsport entry amongst the finishers in the Phillip Island 500, but what he does behind the wheel is not the only thing which will help achieve that.
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In fact, Shiels’ mission to see the chequered flag in the 112-lap Australian GT Endurance Championship began well before this weekend.
This season AMAC Motorsport has upgraded from a Porsche to a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 and as such, must learn the nuances of racing the new car.
Lamborghini engineers have been helping the process, while AMAC’s team owner Andrew Macpherson said Shiels’ expertise has been valuable as well.
“It is not just a matter of hopping in a race car and going. Each track, every condition, you’ve got to work on the car set up, ride height and that sort of thing,” Macpherson said.
“It’s not just about clipping yourself in and putting your foot on the accelerator, motor sport is so much more involved than that. It’s a work of art that Lamborghini.
“Brad’s feedback on this car’s handling, its capacity in different conditions, has been very helpful when it comes to helping the engineers to set the car up. That he is able to articulate his feelings about the car is part of his expertise, it’s not just about his driving ability and his driving ability is unquestionable.”
Shiels and the AMAC team had a test day at Phillip Island on May 17, the Bathurst driver saying it “feels like we're heading in the right direction with set up.”
That test day came on the back of a promising showing in round three of Australian GT Championship in Perth when Shiels did his first race laps in the Huracan.
That is a good sign given the challenges that await the team in the first of four Australian GT Endurance Championship rounds.
“Finishing,” Macpherson said when asked what the goal for this Sunday was.
“The old story is if you want to win, you’ve got to finish. The 501 kilometres around Phillip Island will be an arduous effort for two drivers, especially late on Sunday afternoon.
“It is probably going to be getting towards dark conditions and it could be raining as well.
“But yes, Brad is a good young talent who always does really well.”
Practice will get underway from 9.45am on Saturday morning, followed by a pair of qualifying sessions.
The race itself will start at 1.40pm on Sunday, with two timed compulsory pit stops for each car.
