“Prior experience at any circuit is important, but especially at Mt Panorama because it’s a public road and you can’t practise there all year round” Explains Nathan. “I hadn’t raced at Mt Panorama before, so I took the opportunity to learn it before the national championship round.
Despite not having driven a Formula Ford for more than two years, Nathan qualified fifth fastest of the 31 FF1600 drivers, many of them Mt Panorama veterans. He finished second in the first two races, all the time lowering his lap times as his experience increased.
In the third and final race, Nathan took the fight up to race leader Jonathan Venter, and near the end of the fifth lap he grabbed the lead in a daring move through The Chase. It was perfect timing, because seconds after he crossed the Start/Finish line to begin lap six, the Safety Car came out following a crash on another part of the circuit.
Nathan duly led the field around what turned out to be the final lap behind the Safety Car, taking the win! He capped it off with a fastest race lap more than eight-tenths of a second quicker than the next best. “I wasn’t expecting to win this weekend,” he said.“It was mainly to blow away the cobwebs and be confident here, because next time I’ll be in a faster car against some of Australia’s top drivers.
“At least I know the way around Mt Panorama now!”
Nathan thanked his sponsors Rondo, Direct Plasterboard Outlet and Racer Inc. for supporting his 2013 racing program.
Story credit: http://www.nathanmorcom.com/11-02-2013-bathurst-ff1600-report.html