It has been a long road, but after two years of hard graft from a team that included MTA Institute trainers, some super-talented young apprentices, and one experienced driver, the MTAQ Racing Team has scored its first race victory in the Hyundai Excel Series X3 Queensland championship.

It’s a fitting reward for a one-car team that has pulled out all the stops during the season, working long hours to repair, maintain and push the car to the limits of its ability. But it wasn’t just a one-off result in the final race weekend of the season. Consistency over the three races at Morgan Park Raceway saw the team finish 3rd for the weekend, while solid performances during the season has seen the team claim 4th spot in the final championship standings. A fantastic result.

The MTAQ team also took out the Queensland Racing Drivers Association (QRDA) Championship for Excels – an accolade that rewards consistency and average finishing position over the season.

All in all, after a shaky start to the year, 2019 has ended with the MTAQ Racing Team becoming one of the top teams in the state and a very serious contender for 2020 honours.

“We are a genuine race-winning contender now,” said a clearly elated driver and team leader David Wood. “The weekend ended with us collecting our second consecutive podium finish and another nice trophy for our collection. It was a solid way to complete our championship year and showed that our last round result was no fluke.

“Our points haul from the last two events saw us rocket into 4th in the final standings for the Queensland Championship, just a few points shy of 3rd. Considering we were languishing in 9th only two rounds back, it is a very good recovery and our best seasonal position by a long way.

“Winning the Queensland Racing Drivers Association (QRDA) Championship for Excels, which is the ‘championship within a championship’, is very special,” he added. “The QRDA is the main association involved in state-level motorsport and has represented all classes and drivers for more than 40 years. Each class has its own drivers’ championship and it is a very prestigious prize to win.”

As for the final weekend of racing at Warwick, things were looking good even during the build-up. Some input from CNJ Motorsport resulted in engine tuning gains and extra power which proved vital.

A solid qualifying session saw David grab 3rd spot on the grid, although the performance of the car was good enough that there was some frustration that snaring pole was just out of reach.

“Qualifying was slightly disappointing as we missed pole by two-tenths of a second!” said David. “We had enough pace in the car, but it was a very tight session with the top 7 cars covered by just 0.5 seconds. I didn’t quite get the lap perfect but, even so, it gave us a starting spot on the second row and with qualifying being so critical in this class that was a solid place to be.”

Race One would prove to be the team’s maiden victory, but it was not without controversy. A tremendous tussle saw the front three cars, which included the MTAQ car, break away from the pack and the ensuing battle for the lead was scrappy enough that the stewards got involved once the race was over.

“That was a very hard-fought affair with the pace absolutely on the limit,” said David. “There were a few driving standards incidents amongst the front group – none of which we caused or was our fault – that resulted in lengthy stewards’ hearings after the race to decide the final outcome. After almost three hours of deliberation and robust debate, we were confirmed as the winners.

“It is so very pleasing that we achieved this milestone in our racing journey, even under those circumstances. It was a strange feeling not being able to really celebrate until the stewards had handed down their decisions, but it is nice to finally get the monkey off our back and take a victory. We have been so close for so long and have worked so hard just to stay at the sharp end in a class that is growing rapidly. It was a great to have the MTAQ car P1!”

Races Two and Three were, just like Race One, ding-dong battles, producing some thrilling action.

“Intense would be an understatement to describe those races,” said David. “There was no quarter given and it was some of the hardest racing I have been involved with – fair, but very hard. By virtue of our Race One win, we started Race Two from pole. Unfortunately, I made a poor start, but was soon back challenging for the lead as the top three cars were again able to break away from the field. Then it was on, with the positions swapping near constantly for the duration. We finally ended up in 2nd place, about a metre-and-a-half short of the win in a side-by-side finish!

“As for Sunday’s double-distance feature race, we got a blistering start and shot to the lead. We gave the car a few tweaks on Saturday night and it was absolutely fantastic in the opening stanza. We built a small buffer and led the race comfortably up until half distance when a safety car was deployed to clear an accident. That allowed the field to bunch back up behind us and in the ensuing battle we got pushed wide and fell back to 7th, recovering to 4th at the end after we lost further racing laps due to another safety car deployment.

“It was a disappointing end as we looked to have the race win and round win in the bag until the first safety car. However, all in all it was a great weekend.”

Having been launched only in 2017, the development of the MTAQ Racing Team has been a story of hard work, innovative thinking, clever strategy, excellent driving and the desire to provide a sensational, real-world experience to apprentices with a passion for motorsport. To say that has been achieved feels like an understatement and the future looks very bright for a team always looking to challenge for the top spot.

“It has been another season of improvement for us, and had we had some better luck earlier in the season we would have been in outright championship contention without doubt,” said David. “We have had fastest laps at two of the five events this season, our best finishing and qualifying positions have been achieved, we’ve smashed our PB laps at every circuit, and secured our best championship finish overall.

“We are team on the rise and it wouldn’t be possible without the tremendous hard work of everyone involved – from those who work to prepare the car and get it on the track and running, to MTA Queensland and the team there and, of course, our sponsors who have offered such great support over this and earlier seasons. We can’t wait for 2020!”

Source: Motor Trader E-Magazine (Nov) 2019

8 Nov 2019