MRA Series Round 6, Wakefield Park, Goulburn, Saturday 8 August 2026
There are weekends where everything falls into place, and there are weekends where you have to work for every positive you can take from them.
This one was definitely the latter.
But when I look back at the day, there is actually quite a lot to be encouraged about. I put the #17 BMW inside the outright top ten in qualifying, finished fourth in class in Race 1, found a setup change that transformed my confidence in the car, recovered nine places in the final race and, most importantly, earned the third signature required to progress towards my full Motorsport Australia National Circuit licence.
And that last part matters because it moves me another step closer to one of my bigger goals: racing at Bathurst.
Qualifying: P10 outright
Qualifying got the weekend off to a really encouraging start.
It took me a few laps to find some clear track. There was plenty of traffic initially, so I used that time to bring the tyres and brakes up to temperature and get myself properly up to speed as well.
Eventually a window opened and I made the most of it.
The rear of the BMW was very loose, which meant I couldn't fully lean on the car, but I kept pushing. I actually lost the rear at Turn 6 on one lap while exploring the limit, which gave me a pretty good indication of where that limit was.
Despite that, I managed a 1:09.818, good enough for P10 outright and P4 in class.
That meant a lot to me because qualifying has traditionally been an area where I feel I haven't always extracted everything from the car. To go straight into the outright top ten first time out in this car was a really satisfying result.
More importantly, it showed that the pace was there even though the car wasn't yet behaving the way I wanted.
Race 1: Salvaging a strong result
Race 1 started brilliantly.
I got an excellent launch and made up several positions before we'd even reached Turn 1, briefly finding myself among some considerably faster machinery.
From there, though, the rear-end instability became the major issue.
Turn 6 in particular was costing me time. I couldn't lean on the rear with confidence, and as the race progressed I found myself becoming more cautious through that part of the circuit.
A couple of cars eventually worked their way past, and on the final lap I lost another position following a late move at the Fish Hook.
The result was still P11 outright and P4 in class, with a best lap of 1:09.284, which ended up being my fastest lap of the weekend.
Considering how unsettled the car felt, I was reasonably happy to bank the result.
One of the objectives for the weekend was also to complete the requirements towards upgrading my Motorsport Australia licence, so there was no point trying to be a hero with a car I didn't completely trust underneath me.
Finding the setup
Between Race 1 and Race 2, I knew something had to change.
The tyre pressures had been too high through qualifying and Race 1. I'd probably overcompensated for the cold conditions, so we brought them back down closer to what I would normally run.
I also decided to make the rear Bilstein dampers firmer.
That adjustment turned out to be one of the most important discoveries of the weekend.
Race 2: The car comes alive
I made another excellent start in Race 2 and immediately knew the car was better.
The combination of the tyre pressure adjustment and firmer rear damping had settled the BMW considerably. For the first time all day, I felt like I could properly lean on the rear through the middle of the corner.
My confidence came back and the car just felt much more on song.
At one stage I found myself chasing a six-litre VF Commodore. It obviously had a significant power advantage down the straights, but through the corners I was able to stay with it reasonably well. That was a lot of fun and probably the best indication of how much better the car felt.
Unfortunately, the result didn't match the progress.
Late in the race I was working through lapped traffic and became held up behind another car. As I committed to the Fish Hook and turned towards the apex, another competitor attempted a late move from behind and hit the front-left of the BMW.
The impact shattered the wheel and caused an immediate puncture.
Race over.
Interestingly, it was the same car that had made a late move on me at the Fish Hook during Race 1. On that occasion I'd seen them coming early enough to leave some additional room and avoid contact. This time I was focused on the traffic ahead and had already committed to the corner.
To the other driver's credit, they apologised afterwards and accepted responsibility, so we shook it off and moved on.
I was still gutted because the car had finally come to me and I felt like we were starting to unlock what it could do.
Fortunately, I had spare wheels with me. We replaced the damaged front-left and reset for Race 3.
Race 3: P24 to P15
The Race 2 DNF put me at the back of the grid for the final race.
Starting P24 was frustrating, particularly after qualifying tenth earlier in the day.
I knew immediately that I had pace over a number of the cars around me, but racing at the back presented a completely different challenge.
It was busy, unpredictable and, at times, pretty wild. People were fighting over 22nd and 23rd with the intensity you'd expect for the lead.
Coming straight off the Race 2 incident, I made the conscious decision to be selective.
I still wanted to move forward, but I wasn't interested in ending the weekend with another damaged car.
That meant choosing my passes carefully and accepting that sometimes I'd have to sit behind traffic longer than I'd normally want to.
The lap times reflected that. At points I was around two seconds away from my best pace simply because I couldn't find clear track.
Despite that, I managed to work my way from P24 to P15, gaining nine positions before the chequered flag.
It wasn't the fastest race I've ever driven, but it was probably a useful lesson in race management.
It also reinforced something pretty strongly: qualifying at the pointy end makes life a lot easier.
The numbers
| Session | Result | Class | Best lap |
|---|
| Qualifying | P10 | 4th | 1:09.818 |
| Race 1 | P11 | 4th | 1:09.284 |
| Race 2 | DNF | | |
| Race 3 | P15 | | |
The bigger picture
The biggest result of the weekend didn't actually appear on the timing sheet.
I received my third required signature on my Motorsport Australia probationary circuit licence, which means I'm now eligible to apply for my full National Circuit licence.
I'll be putting that application in this week.
The driving force behind getting the licence upgrade completed quickly has always been the opportunity to race at bigger events.
In particular, Bathurst.
You can't pursue an entry into events such as the Bathurst 6 Hour without the appropriate licence, so getting this box ticked is an important part of putting myself in a position where, if the right opportunity presents itself, I can take it.
I'd love to race at Bathurst at some point in the future, and the 2027 Bathurst 6 Hour would be an incredible opportunity if I can make the pieces come together.
There is plenty that needs to happen before then, but I'm now one step closer.
Couldn't do it alone
A huge thank you has to go to my wife Shirley, who was effectively my crew for the entire day.
She kept me fed and hydrated, helped on the radio, made sure I was in the right place when it was time to grid up, supported everything happening between sessions and, after the Race 2 incident, was also the person reminding me to calm down and reset.
Having someone beside you doing all of those little things during a race meeting makes an enormous difference.
And thanks as always to RETSA Group, Pinnacle Automotive and Chief for continuing to support the journey.
Plenty to take away
I'm leaving the weekend with mixed feelings.
There is frustration because the early pace showed what might have been possible. Qualifying P10 outright proved that I had the speed, but the rear balance prevented me from fully capitalising on it in Race 1.
When we solved much of that problem for Race 2, the race ended through contact.
Race 3 then became about recovery rather than outright speed.
So no, it wasn't the perfect weekend.
But I qualified inside the top ten, finished fourth in class, found a meaningful improvement in the setup, recovered nine positions from the rear of the field and completed the licence requirement that opens the door to the next stage of my racing.
That's plenty of positive momentum to take into whatever comes next.
And somewhere in the distance, Bathurst remains the target.
