| Lachlan Mineeff and Shane Smollen have come mesmerisingly close to clinching the 2024 Monochrome GT4 Pro-Am title with a round to spare, after driving their Central Element/Equipment Dynamics Porsche Cayman to fourth overall in the penultimate round of the series at Sydney Motorsport Park. Mineeff and Smollen emerged from the weekend with a 52-point advantage over their nearest rivals, and with 52 points on offer in the final round at Bathurst, Mineeff says it’s looking very promising. “We have nine fingers on the trophy – for us to be beaten, we’d have to DNF both races at Bathurst with our nearest rivals taking both poles and both race wins. You never count your chickens in motorsport, but we’re in a very good position,” Mineeff said. Mineeff and Smollen started the weekend with strong pace in Saturday’s wet qualifying sessions, Mineeff posting the third-fastest overall time in the first session and Smollen taking Pro-Am pole in the second session. A lightning start from Mineeff saw him leaping to the lead of Saturday’s race in the first corner, but some car balance issues and a spin for Smollen at the start of his stint saw them falling to 11th outright (sixth in the Pro-Am class) at the finish. Some well-judged setup adjustments by the Method Motorsport team resulted in a much-improved dry weather package for Sunday’s race; a strong opening stint from Smollen set Mineeff up for a charge to the finish, and they finished third outright (second in the Pro-Am class). “The changing weather conditions on Friday and Saturday made it very challenging to figure out the optimum setup,” Mineeff said. “We started out with a car that was strong in the wet, but not so good in Saturday’s dry race. Fortunately, the Method Motorsport crew did a great job of tuning up the car and it was vastly improved on Sunday. “Overall, it was an excellent weekend and we can head to Bathurst knowing we’re in the box seat for the Pro-Am title.” The GT4 Australia season finale will take place at the Bathurst International, 8-10 November. |
UOW Medical students study at Moss Vale
The University of Wollongong (UOW) Southern Highlands will welcome its first cohort of 12 medical students to its Moss Vale...
