This weekends Hamilton 400 sees the debut of the popular Suzuki Swifts as a support class for the main attraction, the Australian V8 Supercars. For Hamilton’s Shaun Lawrence, it’s also his debut on a street circuit, and just to complete the equation it’s also his first time racing in front of a home crowd.
“I just can’t wait!” says a beaming Lawrence. “I’ve been at the event every year in some capacity and had (literally) dreamt of being able to compete one day, so this is just fantastic. I’m definitely going to be going out there giving it 110% I can promise you that” he added.
Adding to the hype of the event, Lawrence will be one of a host of drivers attending an open autograph session to be held on Hamilton’s Hood Street, between 5-9pm on Thursday evening. The Suzuki Swifts head onto the track for testing at 0820 Friday morning as the race meeting gets under way proper.
With mid-week showers forecast to clear on Friday, finding an ideal dry set up will be critical if Lawrence is to get a good qualifying position. The one-make Suzuki Swift Sport Cup class is renound for ultra close racing, and the prospect of competing on a street circuit designed for passing should see one of the most exciting races of the season.
“I’ve said it before, this will be the first time on the circuit for virtually all of the Suzuki drivers, so it’s going to put us all on a level playing field come practise and qualifying. After that I think it’ll be a matter of who sets their car up best and shows the least fear around a track that has (literally) no margin of error. Bring it on!!” says Lawrence.
The Suzuki Swift Sport Cup cars are set to race three, eight lap races over the course of the weekend with testing and qualifying on Friday.
