Lachlan Mineeff and Shane Smollen’s have battled some braking glitches in the Central Element/Equipment Dynamics Porsche Cayman GT4 CS MR on their way to fifth overall in the Pro-Am Class for Round 3 of the Monochrome GT4 Australia Series at Queensland Raceway.
Mineeff and Smollen demonstrated superb pace in qualifying; they were second and fourth outright in the two sessions to comfortably secure pole position for the Pro-Am class once the times were averaged.
“We rolled out of the truck with a car that was on the pace straight away, and I was very happy with our qualifying speed over one lap,” Mineeff said.
In Saturday’s one-hour race, Mineeff was involved in some close battles in the early stages, pitting from second in class to hand over to Smollen. Despite a lengthy pit stop handicap time (imposed due to their victories in the previous round at The Bend), Smollen drove a strong final stint and crossed the line just six seconds adrift of the class winner.
Hopes were high of a class win in Sunday’s three-hour race and for the first few stints, the Method Motorsport Porsche was looking strong, Mineeff and Smollen leading the Pro-Am class and running comfortably in the top five outright.
However, they were dealt a blow by an inopportune Safety Car at around the two-hour mark that cost them almost a lap to their nearest rivals, and when Mineeff climbed aboard for the final stint, some braking gremlins reared their ugly head. He was able to persevere for a few laps, but ultimately brought the car back into pit lane due to safety concerns.
“The Safety Car came out at a very inconvenient time for us, and put us at a strategic disadvantage,” Mineeff said.
“In saying that, I still felt we were on for second in the Pro-Am class before we suffered the braking problems. Queensland Raceway is a notoriously tough track on brakes, and it certainly took its toll.
“I tried to cope with it the best I could, but ultimately it wasn’t worth risking any damage to the car – I brought it back to the pits and then went out for a few laps at the end to make sure we were classified as a finisher.
“It’s the longest race we’ve done in the GT4 car so far, and we’ve definitely identified a few areas of improvement for next time.”
The next Monochrome GT4 Australia round will be held at Phillip Island for the GT Festival, 23-25 August, returning to the twin one-hour race format.
Them's the brakes for Lachlan Mineeff and Shane Smollen at Queensland Raceway
