Beller Motorsport driver Jack Atley has survived all the notorious Phillip Island weather and walked away with points on debut, after Round 3 of the Victorian State Circuit Racing championships.
With teams and drivers facing ‘4 seasons in one day’ - in various conditions across the whole weekend, Atley played the long game in his first entry into the one make championship.
Sunday’s race 3 and the challenging Island weather claimed many victims and Jack was happy to get through the weekend unscathed.
Porsche 944 at Phillip Island - the start of Race 2 saw a multi car pile up, drawing out the Safety car,
Thankfully all walked away ok. PIC BY REVVED PHOTOGRAPHY
Following the weekend Atley added:
“ As a first up race and entry into the championship, it was a pretty challenging weekend at Phillip Island …but to be honest, we are not overly unhappy or concerned about full race pace at this stage,
This track is a huge challenge in the best of conditions, but when it literally rains, hails, and shines, it doesn't make it any easier,
However, myself and the team had a specific plan all weekend and we stuck to it and gained massive amounts of time as the weekend progressed,
In simple terms, although we set a near record pace in testing, we were also coming off a major shunt to the car and so with such treacherous weather and slick tyres it is sometimes better to not think you know everything, go gang busters and just end up throwing it into a wall,
… that serves no purpose,
so although the podiums and results weren’t there on our first event - we learnt some key points,
for one, its not easy to simply rock up and take on established drivers who have been racing for many years in the category and who are fully aware of how the car will handle, you have to be respectful of that,
and two…as soon as you think you know everything and this is easy, motorsport has a funny way of biting back.
PIC BY PETER WEAVER PHOTOGRAPHY
Plus, the Island is high speed - which is awesome to compete in - but it also means you need to get into a rhythm and a flow … and we simply never got the chance to do this,
… the team have prepared an awesome car and I know the times will tumble and results will come because we will continue to strive for as much success as possible,
unfortunately, it does sometimes simply takes time to get up to speed with a new car and these tyres,
Our next race is at Sandown which is a track I know very well,
…I’ve done literally hundreds of laps there in Melbourne ..and I am sure as the season rolls on we will be heading much further up the pack’
A huge thank you to the team at Beller Motporsport for keeping me on track “ .
