Gold Coast Fight-Back Pays Off
After their stunning podium finish at Bathurst, Nick Percat and his British co-driver, Oliver Gavin, in the number 222 Walkinshaw Racing Commodore, were forced to scrap hard for every point at the recent Gold Coast 600 V8 Supercar event. Although the weekend didn’t go to plan, the Startline supported team still managed to secure a very commendable 7th overall placing at the completion of the Pirtek Enduro Cup.
Contact in the early stages of Saturday’s 300-kilometre race saw the #222 head to the pits on lap five to replace damaged steering. Despite being a number of laps down, Percat and Oliver soldiered on and eventually crossed the line in 19th place to still score valuable championship points. Again the team faced a setback early in Sunday’s race when it decided to pit under a Safety Car deployment which was subsequently cancelled. Considerable time was lost as Gavin was forced to ‘double-stack’ behind the sister Walkinshaw Racing entry of Tim Slade and Tony D’Alberto (under category rules, the two team cars share pit facilities). However, an inspiring fight back saw the pair charge through the field to eventually finish 10th and round out the team’s endurance campaign. Action now moves on to the penultimate round of the championship, the Phillip Island 400 (14th to 16th November).
Startline has partnered with Walkinshaw Racing (which includes Holden Racing Team, Supercheap Auto Racing and Heavy Haulage Australia Racing) to help the team maintain its reputation for outstanding vehicle appearance.
