Crafty bush engineer rescues desperate drivers

1 year ago 47

TCR Australia Series front-runners Will Brown and Zac Soutar volition beryllium capable to contention aft a section Launceston technologist worked "a spot of magic" connected 2 breached parts.

Brown and Soutar – who some contention a second-gen Audi RS 3 LMS – suffered identical driveshaft failures during qualifying for the opening circular of the play astatine Symmons Plains connected Saturday, putting them retired of the afternoon's race.

With nary spare parts successful the country, a backyard remedy was sought. The 2 near beforehand driveshaft inputs were taken to a section engineer, who welded the pieces backmost together.

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"They took it to a section engineering store and he's tried to enactment a spot of magic," Soutar told Wide World of Sports.

"They've enactment a bolt done the mediate of the 2 breached bits to bring them backmost together.

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"They've besides machined them down and welded them astir the extracurricular of the spline onto the driveshaft input. Then they've besides enactment a dowel backmost done the mediate of the driveshaft.

"So it's a spot of a three-pronged onslaught of trying to get it backmost together, but the occupation volition present beryllium that those pieces are formed and vigor treated."

Having sat retired contention one, Brown and Soutar volition some commencement from the rear of the grid for contention two.

Whether they decorativeness the 2nd contention remains to beryllium seen and Soutar is taking a "fingers crossed" approach.

"There's a accidental that the metallic could beryllium rather brittle now," Soutar explained.

"There's a batch of accidental it could interruption (but) we're going to person to suck it and see.

"We've enactment it backmost unneurotic now, she's acceptable to go. We're going to person a dip.

"I'm going to instrumentality it precise casual disconnected the commencement enactment and past conscionable effort and get into it during the race.

"If it breaks, it breaks. If it doesn't, blessed days. We'll spot however we go."

Although the near broadside is mostly unloaded astatine the anti-clockwise Symmons Plains, it's understood the nonaccomplishment is owed to the dense braking forces.

Symmons Plains has 1 of the slowest corners successful the country, a hairpin which comes aft a agelong consecutive with a 220km/h approach.

Race 2 is slated for 1:30pm Sunday with contention 3 to travel astatine 4:10pm.

Sunday's sum of Race Tasmania gets underway astatine 11:30am – live, ad-free, and exclusively connected Stan Sport.

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