Sherrin Racing have enjoyed a successful weekend in Sydney for the penultimate round of the 2024 Meguiar’s Australian Production Cars season, with the #27 Sherrin Rentals BMW M4 securing three second place outright and class X podium finishes from four races and second overall outright and in class for the round. 

Grant started Saturday’s race one from the front row of the grid, having qualified in second outright and in class, and immediately commenced an intense battle with fellow X class racer Simon Hodges for position, taking advantage of a late race safety car to launch ahead and bring the #27 home in second place outright and in class. 

Race two would see Grant again behind the wheel and starting from the front row. Locked in a fierce battle with his nearest competitor for the entirety of the race, he gave it everything he had to keep the pressure on, nipping on the heels of the race leader for the full 30-minute session to secure another outright and class second-place finish for the #27.

Starting race three from the front row again, Grant got the #27 off to another fantastic start and went on to mount a number of on-track battles. Seeing an opportunity around lap 10 to make a pass for the lead, Grant made a move on the race leader, with the right front of the #27 making just enough contact with the back of the car in front to send the M4 spearing into the grass. Grant rejoined the field in fourth and worked hard to recover for a third outright and second in class finish for this race.

After such consistency, the hour-long race four unfortunately didn’t quite provide the end to the weekend Sherrin Racing had been hoping for – with some confusion swirling over the timing of a Safety Car as the compulsory pit stop window opted, Grant rolled the dice on not taking another trip through pit lane. A post-race investigation determined that race officials felt that the team’s compulsory pit stop had, in fact, not been appropriately taken, and a two-lap penalty as per the Meguiar’s APC regs was applied to relegate the #27 to 10th outright and third in class X finish after having crossed the line in first. 

“We had a great weekend overall, and the outright and class X second place overall is a positive result for the team, putting us in a strong position to head into the final round of the season in a few weeks’ time,” Grant said. 

“When we came around the last corner of the last race, there was a car parked off the track with a yellow flag waving. As we came around, the flag went back to green.

“The pit window opened as we commenced that lap, and by the time we got into the green zone, we had committed to entering pit lane for our compulsory stop. 

“The confusion was around when we crossed the timing line in relation to when the Safety Car boards went up. I rolled the dice, and we had to make a call in the moment. I decided to stay out, believing we had completed our compulsory stop. It was a 50/50 chance, and unfortunately, we lost that battle,” he explained. 

“Of course, this isn’t what we were hoping for, but that’s racing sometimes, and we are so grateful to all of our fans and sponsors for their enduring support as we put our absolute all into this competition each time we head out onto the track. 

“Aside from that, it was a great weekend for the team, with three great results in the previous races, and the car went well all weekend,” he reflected. 

“We’re going to start preparing for the Bathurst International now, which is only a few weeks away, where we’ll be racing for the outright and class X championship, as well as the round win once again. As the defending champions, the Sherrin Racing team is hopeful we can once again taste success at Bathurst.”

The Bathurst International – the final round of the 2024 Meguiar’s APC season – will take place across November 8-10.

Sherrin Racing is supported on-track by Wirtgen Group, Spaceframe, Hi-Tec Oils, Custom Plastic Fabrication, Industrial Protective Coatings Qld (IPCQ), Action Mechanical Specialists, Welding Solutions, Symmetry Engineering, Brisbane Isuzu, Hydraulink Brisbane North, Dynapac CEA, Clark Equipment, Great Whites Lighting, Sherrin Rentals and Sherrin Equipment. For more information, visit www.sherrinracing.com.au