The Stadium Super Trucks brought the Castrol Edge Gold Coast 600 to life on the weekend, stealing the show with huge jumps, high speeds, massive wheel lifts and plenty of rubbing panels. South Australian desert racer, Greg Gartner was one of five Australians in the field of eleven trucks, lining up against US stars like Robby Gordon, Sheldon Creed and Keegan Kincaid to battle it out in an inter-continental shoot out on the concrete.
Sporting Toyo Tyres Australia and Clipsal 500 livery on the #14 Stadium Super Truck, Gartner kept clear of the carnage that unfolded in the first two races on Friday and Saturday. Adapting his flamboyant driving style from the dirt to the tarmac as the weekend progressed.
“These little trucks are great fun to drive, with around 650hp on tap and big suspension travel. Talking to both Robby Gordon and Sheldon Creed over the weekend, they both explained how hard they are to drive, which made me happy as we have been learning all weekend. It isn’t as straight forward as it looks.” Said Greg
Finishing 7th and 9th in the first two SST races, Gartner clicked up a gear on Sunday. Starting on the second row of the grid in Race 3 on Sunday morning, Gartner kept clear of the early carnage between Morris, Mingay and Gordon, before some push and shove with Matt Brabham heading into the compulsory yellow to regroup the field. After the restart Gartner continued to style it up over the jumps and hung the inside front 35” Toyo Open Country ATII high in the air, as the truck torqued up in the corners. Racing wheel to wheel with Robby Gordon and Matt Mingay, Greg Gartner greeted the chequered flag for the race 3 in 6th overall.
Ahead of Sunday afternoons final 10 lap race, the suspension and brakes were tuned on the #14 Toyo Tyres / Clipsal 500 by Robby Gordon, with the massive air demanding some extra compression to be dialled in to the King Bypasses. At 1pm it was game on, with the Stadium Super Trucks hitting the grid for the grand finale. Gartner launched out of p3 and quickly moved past Hynes and into second behind Thomas, setting up a great battle with Kincaid.
However a few laps in, Gartner’s race would come to a halt in spectacular fashion. Looking to make an opportunity Gartner veered to the right on ramp 3, railing up the side of it and powering off the top with only two wheels on the decking. Flying crossed up through the air with the opposite lock dialled on, Gartner kissed the wall on the landing, then contacted with both Jenner and Creed. With a flat front right, he was forced to watch the remainder of the race from pit lane.
“I am happy with the progress we made. My lap times dropped significantly and got better and better as the weekend went on. I’m really starting to understand the characteristics of the truck. I’m in a lot better place than when we started and even though we didn’t finish. We have made a lot of progress. To gain what we gained has been a valuable experience and I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel and go again.”
“A big thanks goes out to my sponsors Toyo Tyres Australia and the Clipsal 500, and to all the Stadium Super Truck fans that jammed the fences all the way around the Gold Coast 600 track on the weekend.”
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