Wet and Windy Melbourne Weather Brings an End to hsy Racing’s AGP weekend
hsy Racing’s weekend ended in the wall on a wet and windy Saturday morning at the Australian Grand Prix. After a promising start to the event, Ash Samadi was unable to avoid the barrier in race 3, bringing an early end to the weekend for the team.
In qualifying on Thursday, Ash was able to ensure starting positions of 11th and 6th across the weekends races (11th for races 1 & 3, 6th for races 2 and 4). In a field which included a host of both local and international stars, including superstars Giancarlo Fisichella (former Formula 1 race winner) and Marcel Fassler (3x 24 hour of Le Mans outright winner), Ash’s results are to be considered particularly impressive.
Race 1 took place on Thursday afternoon in pristine conditions, although after 9 of the scheduled 11 laps, the race was ended under safety car after an on-track incident. Ash was in 13th position at the time.
After being rescheduled to a 7pm start on Friday, race 2 took place in relative darkness, adding further danger to an already challenging circuit. After starting on the third row of the grid, Ash would fall back to 10th position throughout the course of the 11-lap race.
The heavens opened on Saturday morning and the track was left with an abundance of standing water leaving very challenging racing conditions for the Australian GT category. After spending the first 2 laps of the race under safety car, the field was let loose on the slippery surface. After negotiating the ‘ice-rink’ for a further lap, the race came to an end on lap 4 for Samadi.
The hsy Racing car was left battered and in need of a few new panels, however will be back on the circuit come round 2 at The Bend Motorsport Park in 3 weeks’ time.
