Round 3 - Century Batteries Ipswich Super 440

Round 3 at Queensland Raceway started with plenty of promise for the Hytech Concrete #777, with strong pace building throughout Friday despite struggling for speed in the opening practice sessions.

A huge effort from Adam Mercer and the Ninety9 Motorsport crew saw the car transformed into a rocket ship for qualifying. In an incredibly tight session, we secured P3, putting the #777 on the second row for Race 1.

Saturday brought just the one race, making up ground after dropping a few positions off the start to cross the line in P5. The car continued to show strong pace, giving the team plenty of confidence heading into Sunday’s double-header.

Unfortunately, Sunday brought another dose of bad luck. Starting P5 for Race 2, we suffered a tyre puncture in the opening laps. The tyre eventually tore completely off the bead, forcing the #777 into pit lane and ending any chance of fighting for a strong result.

Race 3 meant starting from P24, but we werent ready to give up just yet. Charging through the field at a circuit where overtaking is notoriously difficult, we fought our way back to P16.

After qualifying P3 and showing the pace to run at the front, the final results certainly didn’t reflect the potential of the weekend.

As Shane Mitchell put it: “Romeo, if you didn’t have bad luck, you wouldn’t have any luck at all.”

It’s certainly been another frustrating weekend, but there are plenty of positives to take away. The pace is there, the team is working incredibly hard, and the fight is still there.

A massive thank you to Adam Mercer for continuing to give us a seriously fast car, Ninety9 Motorsport for their endless hard work, and Max van Geoghegan for his support throughout the weekend, even while managing his own racing commitments.

And, as always, thank you to all our sponsors for backing the journey:

@hytechconcretegroup_ • @carrerabydesign • @royalstone__ •

@anywhereanytimeconcrete • @saferway_pty_ltd • @tudorconstructions • @laundrygo.au • @thecoatinggarage • @accountinghaus • @interlinked_au • @musclegym_fivedock • #carrerabuilt

We reset, regroup and keep pushing.

Next stop: Bathurst in six weeks.