Two impressive top-six results at Darwin in Porsche Carrera Cup Australia has shone a spotlight on Hawkes Bay teenager Tom Bewley.
The 18-year-old rookie mixed it with the best in the second round of the series in his Porsche New Zealand scholarship car, moving ahead of his starting position in both 45-minute races.
“It was good to get back racing after a long three-and-a-half months and from the first practice, when we had a small brake issue and lost a bit of running time, and even in practice two when I couldn’t find the ideal track position, the data showed we had the pace and just needed to find two-tenths [of a second].
“In qualifying I felt quite good and was sure we could get into the top ten so I was really happy with the sixth and seventh starting spots for the two races.”
Observers claim it was the closest qualifying in Carrera Cup Australia history, and an extra tenth would have put him fourth on the starting grid in his NAPA-sponsored #89 TPNZ Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. Starting grids are determined by a drivers two fastest laps in qualifying.
“It’s very difficult on a short track and not much you can do or the team can do since the cars are constantly moving, tyre phasing and you’re constantly catching people. When you back off to find a space then there’s another fifteen cars behind you that want to come charging past on their laps. It’s a bit of luck of the draw where you come out so not much you can do about that.”
Bewley managed to move ahead one spot from his qualifying positions in both races with aggressive moves from the green light.
“Both times I knew turn one, even back in karting and on upwards is the spot where you can make the most, but sometimes also lose the most. I knew if I could be really aggressive there, and I knew who I was racing around, I could make it work. It got me up the spot I needed and then I was with the front guys where I learned so much with all the experience they have.”
Battling with drivers in at least in their fourth year of Porsche racing, some many more, Bewley’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed.
“I learned a lot about how the lines change when the track progresses, a lot more than I thought it would. As we got later into the race the lines were different, how to drive the car and how much they were making the car move around. You could see at the start they were really conservative and then towards the end their cars moved around a little bit more as they pushed harder and used the tyre up.
“Maybe I went a little too hard at the start, I brought it back and lost a little bit in the early part of the race and then during the mid-part I was one of the fastest cars on track. At the end I struggled a little bit with the tyre falling away, just following so close.”
With five rounds still to go, Bewley is looking forward to carrying his Darwin momentum into Queensland Raceway in four weeks time.
“I’m very satisfied. You always want more, but really stoked to get a top five and finish fifth for the round. Everyone says that to finish inside the top ten is really good for a rookie, so a top five was really awesome at a track I knew I could do it especially after testing there earlier.
“A nice consistent weekend, two consistent results, no damage, couldn’t be happier.”
Supported by longtime sponsors Dura-Seal and Clipped Assist, Bewley is also an ambassador for the Tony Quinn Foundation this year, along with support from Adtorque Edge.
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