After closing out third in the Turtle Wax Trans Am series, Brett Holdsworth is thrilled at the opportunity to go racing at Bathurst without the pressure of a title fight.
The Breeze Holiday Parks driver kept out of trouble all year, holding back from all out aggression as he consistently finished in the top five – missing the top 10 just once – to finish third in the championship. This weekend’s Trans Am 100 at the Bathurst International provides an opportunity to dial up the aggression with no effect on the year long effort.
Earlier in the season Trans Am visited the Mountain during the Bathurst 6 Hour weekend, where Holdsworth steered the Ashley Seward Motorsport prepared Camaro to finishes of seventh, fourth and fifth. It was a weekend where Holdsworth felt he had top three speed but had to fight back from a less than ideal qualifying amid some fierce battling.
“This weekend should be interesting because already the races actually feel quite long with how hard you have to work so it’s going to be pretty tough going for 100 kilometres,” said Holdsworth.
“Tyres will play a big role, having to ensure you keep enough life left in the rubber before you get to the long race at the end of the weekend. Of course, there’s some rain on the forecast and if it comes to fruition then we’ll all be on a fresh set of wets which will even the playing field.
“A couple of quick guys are missing from the field so I feel there’s a great opportunity for us to climb on to the podium. There are still the likes of GRM though with Nathan Herne and Owen Kelly who took a 1-2 in the Championship that are going to make it a really hard-fought weekend.
“It was nice to close out our season in third but now we’re going trophy hunting this weekend and I’m looking forward to really attacking the weekend,” concluded Holdsworth.
The Trans Am 100 will take place from November 11-13 at the Bathurst International, with two races on Saturday before the 100 kilometre finale on Sunday.