In a sign of just how popular the grassroots Hyundai Excel motorsport championship has become, the weekend of September 5-6 saw a monster group of cars line up on Townsville’s Reid Park street circuit for the three-race, EFS 4×4 Accessories Excel Invitational in support of the Supercars Supersprint event.

35 cars were registered to race and there were some big-name teams and drivers taking spots on the grid. Drivers included Dunlop Super2 Series professionals Brodie Kostecki, Broc Feeney, Will Brown, and Angelo Mouzouris, while cars from teams including Triple Eight Customer Racing and Matt Stone Racing were set to take their chances in the rough and tumble of Excel racing.

All in all, it was an epic weekend for the category – a big grid, some big names and, with the event broadcast on national television, big exposure.

For the MTAQ Racing Team, getting to Townsville was a job in itself. The weekend before the SuperSprint event the team – comprising of driver David Wood and support crew of Gerard Field, Will Salmon, and Andrew Jackson – had been battling it out in the first round of the Queensland Excel championship at Morgan Park Raceway in Warwick (more on that later).

But while it was a daunting task to get the car through the tough set of races at Warwick, and then have just four days to travel the 1,300km to Townsville and get the car prepped and ready for practice for the big televised event, it was well worth the effort.

It was an up and down sort of weekend for the team – gearbox issues that had been a problem at Morgan Park resurfaced in Townsville during qualifying and saw David start in 9th place on the grid for Saturday’s first, and what would turn out to be, very eventful, race.

“We got clobbered from behind on the first corner of that race, dropping us back to 15th,” said David. “However, by lap 3 we were back to 8th and moving forward nicely. Then, just as we made the pass to 7th, the gearbox destroyed itself and we were out! It was a shame as we were running at the same pace as the leaders.

“That gearbox issue meant a late night for the team, as we got stuck into the task of a gearbox change on Saturday evening. The other unfortunate effect was it meant we had to start 32nd for Race 2 on Sunday.”

Race 2 was, as is normal for the Excel category, another frenetic affair and, once again, the skills of the MTAQ team shone through with the repaired car performing well and David battling through from the back to a very respectable finish.

“Townsville brought together the best Excel racers in the northern part of the country and also a few highly credentialled drivers, so making forward progress wasn’t easy,” said David. “And being a big meeting too, the level of desperation from everyone to fight towards the front was acute – it was more akin to a street brawl than a motor race! But we were still able to cleanly make our way through to 18th spot. That was very pleasing.”

Starting mid-grid for the final race gave David a much better chance of catching the leaders and making a run for a podium finish and the team showed just how good they can be as an incredibly strong effort got them within touching distance of the podium.

“Race 3 was the weekend’s ‘big dance’,” said David. “It was held right before the main Supercars race, was on primetime TV, and there was a big crowd. I am happy to say we grabbed the opportunity, racing hard and fair to finish 5th and on the back of the lead group by the end.

“The race was punctuated by two lengthy safety car periods which reduced the number of racing laps available to us. Had the race been ‘green’ the whole way, I have no doubt we would have been able to get to 3rd and on the podium.

“To be able to come from the back of the field and race to the front against the level of company on the track was a very fitting reward for all the hard work and effort we put in. We are starting to be known as the ‘comeback kings’ – which is a tag I would rather shake – but the TV didn’t miss us and the commentary team gave us a huge wrap for our tail-end-Charlie-to-lead-group charge.

“If we can put together three good races over a weekend we will always be in contention, and that is something for us to work towards going forward.”

With the addition of the Supercar2 drivers for the Townsville event, and with the Excel championship tempting top-level motor racing teams to get involved, the Hyundai category is becoming one to be reckoned with, and that popularity ensures that the racing is as fierce and exciting as any that can be found on a race track.

“Appearing at Townsville has well and truly put Excel racing on the map, with motorsport social media absolutely lighting up with praise for the level of entertainment provided and the quality of the racing,” said David. “The racing was brutal with nearly every car in the field leaving with some damage – at least two were written-off and a host of others needed extensive repair. The tight confines of the concrete-lined course, along with the high stakes, was always going to lead to some carnage, and so it proved!

“It was a terrifically exciting event to be a part of and, hopefully, this is the first of many opportunities we will have to race on bigger stages!”

QLD Championship Round One

The Townsville event followed an equally eventful weekend of racing at Warwick’s Morgan Park Raceway.

In a truncated, COVID-19-affected season, the weekend represented Round One of the shortened two-round 2020 season and it was filled with highs and lows for the MTAQ team.

Most significantly, Friday practice was cut short after the car suffered a cylinder head gasket failure, which meant the team had to shoot back to home base in Brisbane for some late-into-the-night work.

“The gasket failure meant we got very little track time to fine-tune our race set-up and resulted in the loss of our primary race engine,” said David. “We had to revert to a back-up that we had in the shop which, unfortunately, wasn’t as good as the one we took out.

“Still, the team worked through the night to get the car back on the track, arriving back in Warwick at 4:30am on Saturday, ready for qualifying at 9am. It was a great effort.”

Having to replace a tuned engine with a back-up at the last minute placed a good deal of pressure on the team, and the lack of time to set up the car meant qualification was tough. An 11th place spot on the grid was a good result in the circumstances and the race result proved just how solid the car was.

“We made some set-up and engine tune changes for Saturday afternoon’s Race One and this race, I feel, was our best ever,” said David. “We tore the front half of the field apart, charging from 11th to come home 2nd in a shortened sprint format. To have a car down on power, have little sleep and set-up time, and be able to do that was just fantastic and a testament to the hard work we have put in.”

A strong 2nd place in the following sprint race on Sunday morning – setting the fastest lap of the race meeting in the process – cemented the team’s comeback, and everything was looking rosy for the last race of the weekend. Unfortunately, and not for the first time, luck deserted the team as a podium-topping finish was in sight.
“The race started well for us,” said David. “We were running along in the lead group and then made our move and took the lead around one-third distance. We established a handy lead, but we then suffered a gear selection cable breakage that jammed the car in 4th gear. Unfortunately, along with the race win, we also lost the round win and what would have been the lead in the championship.”

As it stands, the MTAQ Racing Team sits 5th in the championship standings following Round One.

“It was a cruel end to proceedings,” said David. “Even though we were up against it from the outset, we fought on and nearly pinched the fairy tale result. Still, that is the sport and the nature of what we do – it can be as disappointing as it can be rewarding. We are still within striking distance of the championship with the final round to come in November.

“We will need Lady Luck on our side, but we aren’t out of it and we will certainly do our best when we return to Morgan Park.”

The MTAQ Racing Team will return to Morgan Park Raceway for the final round of the Queensland Excel championship on November 21-22.

Source: Motor Trader E-magazine (September 2020)

16 September 2020