By Ebony McQuinn
2023 has officially begun, starting with Waters Speedweek debut in the final round of the series. While the night didn’t yield the results the crew had hoped for, they were overall happy.
Starting the night in the fourth group of time trials, Waters set a time of 11.259; While completing a time with 10s at the crew’s last Premier outing, track conditions saw the fastest time overall, being 11.043. Being only 0.2 behind and second in his group, the crew was happy with the pace.
Waters qualified to start 5th in the 4th heat. Unfortunately not getting off the line as he had hoped before a red light on the first lap saw a restart. Sadly, the second start was the same and Waters was passed by Lachie McHugh, putting him in 6th, where he ultimately finished.
The points gathered so far put Waters out of four in the B-Main. The crew was a bit disappointed to be back in a B-Main but felt confident in Waters's abilities. Waters spent the B-Main battling with Darren Mollenouyux for 3rd before Waters made the final pass to finish in 3rd.
A-Main was straight after the B-Main, so the crew rushed out to the infield to make changes to the car. Waters started from the back of the grid. The car showed great pace as Waters continued to pass cars despite numerous yellow lights. Ultimately, Waters finished 11th in the A-Main. The crew are content with the results but they're ready to go better in tonight’s Victorian 410 title.
Driver's Quote:
"Awesome to be back here in Warrnambool for the last night of Speedweek. A huge field that was great to be a part of, probably one of the hardest fields I've been in. Time trials were great, we were second quickest. Had an okay run in the heat which put us in the front of the B-Main. The car was quick in the B[-Main], started 4th and finished 3rd. Qualified for the A[-Main], so started at the back. Chipped away at it, and passed a few cars to finish 11th. It was really good after the last couple of finals we haven't finished- it was great to finish one. We'll go better in the title"
Gallery:
Photos by Ebony McQuinn