HSY Racing Debut Ends in Heartbreak at Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour
Outfitted in HSY and EuroMechanica livery, the Melbourne Performance Centre Audi R8 GT3 LMS was piloted by Daniel Gaunt, Dylan O’Keeffe and Ash Samadi in the AAM (Amateur) class. Unfortunately the race came to an end on only lap 66 when Samadi encountered a mechanical failure when approaching turn 1. It was a heartbreaking way to end a weekend that promised so much for the crew.
Alternating drivers throughout practice on both Friday and Saturday the team was consistently at the front of class while establishing themselves as a top 15 outright contender. Kiwi Dan Gaunt was given qualifying duties on Saturday afternoon and was able to place the car 20th on the grid for the 6:45am start on Sunday morning.
Young gun Dylan O’Keeffe was thrown the keys to start the race on Sunday morning. However after a number of incidents resulted in early safety car periods, the decision was made to get amateur driver Samadi in to complete his allocated time early in the piece. Samadi took the reins through until 9am when a mechanical failure happened on the front straight. Samadi was diagnosed with a broken collarbone and taken to the local hospital for scans. We wish Ash all the best in his recovery.
Taking outright honours were fellow Audi Racing team ‘WRT’, who made the long trip out from Belgium for the event. We congratulate them on a hard earned victory. Unfortunately the race was red flagged approximately 20 minutes early on the top of the hill involving John Martin and Ash Walsh. HSY wishes both racers a speedy recovery.
You will next see the HSY Racing Audi R8 GT3 LMS on the track at the Adelaide 500 on March 1-4 for the Audi R8 LMS Cup. We can’t wait to see you there!
