NSW Motor Race Championship Round 2

NSW MRC Round 2 – One Raceway

Round 2 of the NSW Motor Race Championship was held at One Raceway in Goulburn.

This was my first race meeting of the season, so a big focus for the weekend was getting comfortable in the car again. The event was held on the Shelley Circuit (anti-clockwise), which was also my first time driving the track in this direction. There was plenty to learn, from finding the right racing lines to building confidence and working out how much speed I could carry through each corner. Fortunately, it was also the first time racing this layout for most of my competitors.

Results

Qualifying

Qualifying was a solid start to the weekend. While I knew there was still plenty of time to find, I managed to qualify P2 in class with a lap time of 1:08.8.

Race 1

Race 1 was a positive way to start the weekend. I had a poor launch off the line and got stuck behind another car for the opening laps. After applying pressure, I managed to make a move around the outside of the final corner to reclaim the position. I finished P2 in class and improved my fastest lap to 1:07.7.

Race 2

Race 2 was definitely an eventful one. An early mistake dropped me behind two cars that should have been behind me. Not long after, I had a bit of a moment and completed a full pirouette, somehow keeping the car going. Fortunately, the two cars ahead became involved in an incident, allowing me to get past both of them. A safety car was deployed shortly afterwards, and I brought the car home P2 in class.

Race 3

The final race of the weekend turned out to be the trophy race, although I didn't realise it at the time.

I had another average start and lost a position. After spending several laps tucked up behind the car ahead, I tried to apply some pressure by filling his mirrors and forcing a mistake. Unfortunately, I took too much kerb through Turn 1, which unsettled the car and sent me into a spin. I came very close to the wall, but thankfully avoided any contact. Although the car survived without damage, I was unable to continue and recorded a DNF.

Weekend Summary

Overall, it was a successful weekend. It was great to get back behind the wheel, build confidence in the car, and learn a new circuit configuration. While the results showed good pace, there are still plenty of areas to improve before the next round. I'll be taking everything I learnt from this weekend into the next event and looking to come back stronger.