06 Sep WEST WINDING UP FOR APC RETURN
Duane West is itching to get back into the seat of his Class X #9 Kelair Holden VF GTS as part of the latest round of the 2022 Australian Production Cars brought to you by LIQUI MOLY season.
Thirty-one APC racers will descend on Sandown Raceway across September 16-18 for round three of the 2022 season, which will feature two x 30-minute races and one x one-hour race.
With a hectic work schedule, West hasn’t had any seat time in his VF since the Bathurst 6 Hour earlier this year, and this will be his first time racing with the APC since March 2021.
As his home-track and the site of his APC debut (back in 2019), Sandown Raceway is a happy hunting ground for West and one which he hopes will yield some solid results next weekend.
“We haven’t been able to race this year since the six hour, so we are definitely very keen to get into it. Sandown Raceway is only half an hour away from us so that is just perfect, and given that we haven’t raced in our home state for around three years now, I am definitely keen to get out there,” West said.
“The last time we raced at Sandown was actually with the APC, when we debuted the car in March of 2019! I have done a lot of testing laps around that place as well, so you never know, a little bit of home ground advantage might go our way as well.
“It is actually probably the best suited track for our car with the long straights and not too many corners. We qualified third last time and haven’t made any major changes since were last there other than usual development progress, so hopefully we can aim for a top three result.”
While hopeful, West is quick to point out that it is going to be a challenging task next week, with a big field full of highly competitive entrants.
“Having such a big field, it will be a tough feat to be competitive against a lot of the guys we are racing up against, but we will do what we can and hopefully we can plod along and get a result – fingers crossed!” West grinned.
“I think the variety of cars is really good, it is great to have a different kind of racing with the different classes within the category. Having a Commodore up against a BMW and all that sort of stuff is good fun and I think the vast variety of different makes and manufacturers really makes for entertaining racing.
“A top three would be really nice and a great bonus, and hopefully we can have a trouble-free run.
“Given I haven’t even sat in the car since the six hour, first off it will be a case of getting my eye in across the first few sessions and then hopefully it won’t be wet so we can have a good crack at qualifying and go from there.”
This will be the first time West has been able to take advantage of the new-for-2022 APC tyre panel.
“I definitely like the fact that we have a tyre panel. Having a more grippy tyre under our car with it being so heavy will help us a lot,” West said.
“We will be running Yokohamas – they are what we had on the car when we first started racing it, and it is what Improved Production runs down here in Melbourne, so we have run them for a while and know how to set the car up around them.”
West thanks main sponsor Kelair, his father Neil and the rest of his team for all of their support.
Round three of the 2022 Australian Production Cars brought to you by LIQUI MOLY will hit Sandown Raceway across September 16-18 as part of the latest event for the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships. It will feature two x 30-minute races and one x one-hour race. For more information on the Australian Production Cars, visit www.ausprodcars.com.au or contact Troy Williams on troy@ausprodcars.com.au
2022 APC BROUGHT TO YOU BY LIQUI MOLY DATES:
- Round one – Sydney Motorsport Park – May 27-29 – two x 30-minute races, 1 x 300km race
- Round two – Queensland Raceway – August 5-7 – two x 30-minute races, 1 x 300km race
- Round three – Sandown Raceway – September 16-18 – two x 30-minute races and one x one-hour race
- Round four – Tailem Bend – October 21-23 – four x one-hour races
- Round five – Mount Panorama – November 11-13 – four x 30-minute races