Andre Heimgartner has felt the wrath of lady luck at the Coates Hire Sydney 500, with a plethora of issues combining to make it a character-building weekend at the office for the young Melbourne-based Kiwi.
After engine issues plagued the #3 Plus Fitness Holden Commodore during Friday practice, these continued on Saturday and when combined with a longer-than planned second pit stop during the race, saw Heimgartner finish P20 after qualifying P24.
Come Sunday, medical issues raised their head to add further complications, with Heimgartner experiencing problems with eczema in the eye region during qualifying (P25). After the session, the 22 year old received assistance and the all-clear from the on-track medical staff, and so pushed on for the race.
Unfortunately, a miscalculation on fuel load forced an additional pit stop than planned, moving him back to 19th on the road before a loose spark plug lead required a fourth stop and saw him lose two laps on the rest of the field during the trouble-shooting process. He would finish 20th.
“This weekend certainly hasn’t seen lady luck on our side, and it isn’t how we wanted to finish out the year. That is just the way it goes sometimes and we have certainly learnt that across the year – it has been character-building that is for sure,” Heimgartner said.
“Unfortunately at this time of year the availability of parts and resources can get a bit slim for the smaller teams such as Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport, and that is something we have had to contend with as well.
“Having said that, we can all hold our heads high knowing we did the best that we could with what we had and nothing can take that away from us.
“Now, we turn our attentions towards securing our plans for 2017 – hopefully we can confirm details soon for our valued supporters and followers. Thanks of course has to go to all of them for their support this year, and hopefully we can continue working hard for them next year.”
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