KELLY RACING BROTHERS, Rick and Todd, weren’t the only siblings sharing racing success in Australasian motorsport at the weekend with Melbourne sisters Lauren and Maddison Gray both tasting success in their respective opening races of the 2011 season.
Racing against the strongest field assembled for some time, Lauren won Class D of the opening Australian Manufacturers Championship round for the season, taking her LGM Toyota Corolla to second place in race one and an outstanding win in the second to wrap up the weekend honours at Phillip Island.
Big weekend ahead for Gray Sisters at Phillip Island A BIG WEEKEND is in store for Melbourne sisters Lauren and Maddison Gray at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit. For the first time the LGM team will run three cars in two categories, entering two cars in the opening round of the Australian Manufacturers Championship and a Formula Vee for Maddison to continue her rapid learning process in the cut-and-thrust world of open wheel racing.
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12:01:11 pm
Maddie's Bathurst Race Diary We got to Bathurst at about 1.30pm Thursday so try and start to set up, I was feeling a bit nervous about what was to come for the weekend, as it was my first time in the car and at the track! Friday wasn’t too good we were a fair bit off the pace, and just couldn’t make up the time that was needed. During the day I had gained a second which wasn’t bad at all but I still needed to find at least two to four seconds more. Friday was a huge struggle for me - I couldn’t wrap my head around the track nor the car and I needed to find confidence in myself. I wasn’t thrilled with qualifying 30th and finishing the first race where I started. Lauren and dad had heaps of confidence in me which was great. We had a de-brief that night as well and I probably would not have done as well as I did if it wasn’t for their support. I also had a little chat to Michael Caruso’s dad who also helped me heaps too - basically he said to me that all I needed to do was sleep on it thinking about the lines that I needed to take. Surly enough he was right and in Race 2 on Saturday I went out there and gained 6 seconds on my lap time which was fantastic – everything just fell into place - I could work the car and I knew the track. I ended race 2, 24th out of the 45 cars that were in my category which was a good improvement. Race three wasn’t too bad either, though I didn’t improve on my lap times much more. Despite a lot of the laps being run under safety car thanks to the usual Bathurst Carnage we didn’t get many racing laps but I was still able to get up to 17th – we were extremely happy with a top twenty given where we started! All I can say is that Bathurst is going to be probably the hardest track I’m ever going to drive on. It’s an extremely daunting track and yes, it is very hard to wrap your head around it, but I have learnt something and it’s something that i should have done when I first got there… it doesn’t matter how hard it looks, as long as you stick at it and keep trying you will always make it in the end!!! Ive learnt so much from the weekend and I can’t wait to go back… I had an absolute ball, found it very difficult at the beginning but I managed to find my way in the end with help from Lauren, Dad and of course Mick Caruso! Maddie
Posted on Friday March 4 2011 at
07:34:06 am
Thanks to everyone for their continued support!
Maddison Gray ready for Mountain challenge MADDISON GRAY is determined to take a mature approach well beyond her years into her first attempt at tackling the daunting Mount Panorama circuit in Bathurst this weekend. The 17-year-old, from Point Cook in Melbourne’s Western suburbs, will contest the non-championship Formula Vee races at the famous 6.213 km circuit this weekend and in the process follow in the footsteps of her sister and father – who have both raced at the circuit in the past.
Posted on Saturday February 5 2011 at
08:20:37 am
Double the Island Magic for LGM LAUREN GRAY MOTORSPORT has delivered a double podium effort at the recent Island Magic meeting at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit in Victoria. Maddison Gray wrapped up her first year of car racing with third overall in the Formula Vee 1200cc series, finishing on the podium at the round as well. The result caps off a stellar debut season for the 17-year old driver who looks set for bigger and better things in the sport. Meanwhile, a last minute call-up to the ranks of the Improved Production state series saw Lauren Gray win the under two-litre class despite not knowing she would be driving before the weekend.
Posted on Saturday December 4 2010 at
11:25:43 am