Matt Slavin has earned his second Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge podium in an enthralling battle with Andrew Goldie and Tim Wolfe.
The Ashley Seward Motorsport trio lined up in Pro-Am for the opening round of the 2023 Sprint Challenge season. Wolfe was making his debut in the category, Slavin in just his third round and Goldie returning to contest a full season.
A condensed schedule saw on-track action run over two days, with two practice sessions and qualifying forming the Saturday schedule. The ASM trio settled into the new season quickly in practice before the afternoon qualifying session, where Slavin put himself fourth on the Pro-Am grid ahead of Goldie in sixth and Wolfe in seventh.
Sunday saw two 10 lap races precede a lengthy 25 lap race to round out the weekend. Race one featured a challenging opening lap, with Goldie holding sixth while Slavin slipped to ninth just behind Wolfe in eighth. The teammates mounted a strong comeback which saw Goldie charge his way to a third-place finish, with Wolfe following his fellow West Australian home in fourth and Slavin fighting back to fifth.
In the second race Slavin sliced his way past his teammates and up to third place which he would comfortably hold until the checkered flag. Goldie and Wolfe engaged in an exciting battle which saw the Cirrus Aircrafts driver finish fourth, with Wolfe having a moment that dropped him to ninth. The weekend concluded with the 25 lap Jim Richards Enduro race. Goldie and Slavin battled early on with Slavin prevailing to finish in third ahead of Goldie in fourth and Wolfe in eighth.
“I couldn’t wait to get back to racing, and I’m so happy we’ve started the season on the front foot,” said Slavin.
“The competition is so stiff this year, the guys up the front are so experienced with championships up their sleeve and plenty of pace. I’m happy to be in third place behind those sorts of drivers.
“It’s a great platform for us to build from for the rest of the year. I’ve never been to Queensland Raceway before which is our next round, so I’ll find it on a simulator somewhere and make sure I am well prepared to keep the year going strongly,” Slavin concluded.