It was an
impressive return for Nathan Smee Racing last Saturday at
Charlton Raceway Toowoomba, for round 5 of the Speedcar
Super Series. Caught up in a racing incident early on, Smee
restarted at the rear of the field and rushed home to
second place in the 30 lap feature!
After a
complete rebuild since his TPCR crash two weeks earlier,
Nathan and the new Kingsfeld Excavations and
Haulage Stealth number 6 took to the circuit for his first
laps of racing intensity. Timing a 14.452 second lap over a two
lap sprint, Nathan qualified 13th of all Speedcars racing
on the night.
It was a
5th place start and finish for NSR in their first qualifying
heat after slipping back to sixth position in the opening
laps. Locked in a battle for his placing, Nathan fought off
a challenge to cross the line behind three West Australian
racers and one fellow New South Welshman.
On the
charge at the drop of the green in heat number 2, Nathan
slipped to the low line to progress forward; moving up to
5th from the second turn on the initial lap. Utilising the
same line heading into turn one a single lap later, the 6
machine was now in 3rd and chasing down the front runners.
Moving up track, Smee swept to the outside and shot into
second with six short laps remaining. With the West
Australian leader now holding a half straight lead, Nathan
stepped up the pace to tail first place, missing the win by
a narrow 0.153 of a second.
In a fierce
competition due to points system earned on the series, the
Nathan Smee Racing team were set to start the A main feature
from 14th position; a tough task for any racer competing
against the best drivers from across the country.
Smee was on the charge
from the outset of the 30 lap feature race moving up to
9th position by the second lap. Maintaining his position
with 25 laps remaining, trouble developed when a car
spun in turns three and four sending cars in different
directions. Caught up in the racing incident, Nathan
along with others, stopped on the circuit and waited to
be push started. Heading to the back of the field as per
the restart rule, the green flag fell once again with
Nathan shooting to the highline to make up lost ground -
passing 4 cars before another stoppage halted the race.
In eleventh by the 8th lap, Smee took to the lowline to
make a pass capturing the position smoothly heading into
turn three, and continued his stampede claiming another
by the next corner.
Setting his sights on the
front runners, Nathan made steady gains on the leaders
passing the next two competitors on the outside before
switching positions to skillfully sneak low in turn
three claiming fourth place with 15 laps remaining.
Battling to retain his position, it was another five
laps before Nathan moved closer to the podium.
Grabbing the opportunity
after another stoppage, Smee shot to the highline at the
drop of the green tearing around 2nd and 3rd place out
of turn two to steal their positions. Relegated back to
the 3rd after riding a wheel, Nathan regained control of
the car and continued his unrelenting pressure for the
next series of laps. Hitting the highline heading into
turn three, Smee ran clean and smooth on the exit and
was now in 2nd.
Two more restarts impacted
the race, with the group repacked in their single file
line up. Under threat on the start, Nathan protected his
line while making quick lunges for the lead. Unable to
make the much needed pass, the chequered flag dropped
with Nathan finishing a solid 2nd at Speedcar Super
Series Round 5 to the delight of an appreciative crowd.
QUICK RESULTS
|
TIME TRIALS |
START POSITION |
FASTEST LAP
TIME |
|
7 |
14.452 |
|
HEAT ONE |
START POSITION |
FINISH |
|
5 |
5 |
|
HEAT TWO |
START POSITION |
FINISH |
|
6 |
2 |
|
FEATURE |
START POSITION |
FINISH |
|
14 |
2 |
