Interesting Weekend at Sandown
In what proved a chaotic round of the Paynter Dixon Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship at Sandown, Earl Bamber Motorsport emerged relatively unscathed as Callum Hedge again led the charge.
The team has enjoyed a successful season of competition so far, but luck deserted the squad last time out at The Bend Motorsport Park.
Kiwi junior Hedge provided the highlights at Sandown, though a collision in qualifying led to 11th.
“Quite an interesting for me here at Sandown,” Hedge explained.
“I got hit in qualifying and turned around on my first lap. I had a bent car and wasn’t able to set a lap to get where we wanted to be.
Callum spent much of Race 1 where he qualified, but would ultimately be set back to 13th after a post-race penalty.
“The first race also didn’t go very good due to a penalty to finish 13th”, Hedge recounted.
Starting from 13th for the Sunday morning enduro, Callum showed great pace combined with a mature drive to withstand challenging conditions. A combination of robust passing and staying out of trouble set Hedge up for a top five finish in the 35-lap encounter.
“On Sunday, a bit of luck went my way and got a really good start to overtake three cars before the first corner. I stayed clean and watched others go off in front of me to finish fifth.”
Callum’s charge in Race 2 set him up with a great starting position for the final race. Another great start had Callum exit the first corner in 3rd, and made a great move on the last lap to finish 2nd.
“I got another great start in the third race to pass another car before Turn 1 and pressed forward to second on the last lap.”
Callum secured 4th for the round, only a few points shy of the podium, in a great return to form after a disappointing Round 5 plagued by mechanical dramas.
“Really happy, good weekend. Big thanks to Team Porsche New Zealand and Earl Bamber Motorsport for the ripper car this weekend and I can’t wait to have a dip at the Mountain.”
Bathurst is the next stop for the Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship as Hedge now sits seventh in the standings championship standings.
Callum’s 2nd attack at Mount Panorama, Bathurst takes place on October 6-9 for the 7th and penultimate round of the Paynter Dixon Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship.
