Sherrin Racing had its fair share of challenges at the opening round of the 2018 Jacuzzi Spas Australian Production Cars, but that didn’t stop the team from bringing home a pair of race podiums across the weekend.

Friday saw all of the APC competitors greeted with very soggy conditions, with the Sherrin Racing team deciding to take a measured approach to qualifying in the #1 Sherrin Rentals BWM M4.

When the sun came out on Saturday morning, the final practice proved their mid-pack qualifying result was due to nothing but their cautious approach, with Iain Sherrin setting the second fastest time on-track.

Saturday hosted a field of 40-plus cars for the two races, with the NSW State Production Cars series joining the national competitors on-track. Iain Sherrin started race one from 21st on the grid, working his way strongly through the field to bring home second position in an impressive display.

Come race two, Grant Sherrin started off the front row and went straight to work challenging for the win. However, trouble would soon strike with the M4 hitting a ripple strip which would propel the car into the wall for heavy damage to the front bar and the radiator, ending the team’s race.

 

After an all-hands-on-deck effort overnight and into the morning, the crew were able to present a repaired car for race three on Sunday morning. The team again turned heads with Iain Sherrin working his way through from the back of the field to as high as eighth position despite the car being restricted on power due to an intercooler charging pump issue. Unfortunately, that pump issue would ultimately become critical in the final minutes of the race, leaving the M4 stranded on-track.

 

Once again, the team was tasked with starting from the rear of the grid, with Grant this time taking the wheel for the fourth and final race of the weekend.

In a stunning display, he would waste no time – moving from P21 to P13 in just four corners on lap one, and later advancing all the way to second position.

“This weekend truly had it all – from torrential downpours to sunshine, from race podiums to crashes and mechanical failures, what a weekend it was,” Iain said.

“While we of course would have loved to get the wins in those two races, given what we faced in the other two those podium placings really felt like a win for the whole team and what a great reward they were for all of their hard work.

“Sometimes in motorsport you have weekends like this, we are just happy that we are able to walk away on a high note, ready to regroup and make sure we come back for our home round at Queensland Raceway even stronger.”

For Grant, the second-place finish in race four was especially important.

“No one likes to crash and it certainly felt pretty terrible to have that incident on Saturday when we were in the box seat to have a great fight for the race win,” Grant said.

 

“We had a whole lot of work ahead of us, and then some more when it turned out we had some issues hanging over from the crash that we had to rectify.

 

“Everyone dug deep and we got it done, and I am just so glad I could bring it home strong and straight in that last race to repay everyone for their hard work and their support.

“The car was just on-song and there was no stopping us. We didn’t have the track time to close that last gap to the race winner, but if we had had a safety car or more track-time, I think we could have really fought for the win.”

Sherrin Racing will next be on-track for round two of the 2018 Jacuzzi Spas Australian Production Cars, hitting Queensland Raceway across July 27-29.

Sherrin Racing is supported on-track by Tyreright, Hi-Tec Oils, JCB, Clark Equipment, Sherrin Rentals, Wirtgen Group, PSC Insurance Brokers, Kobelco and Great White. For more on the team, visit www.sherrinracing.com.au