This was the first race that Benoni’s Clare Vale has done in her RAM Mustang in over a year and she showed that she still has a lot of pace on the main circuit.
She qualified seventh for the first race in the V8 Supercar class of the Sports and GT race and, despite being blocked at the start, drove strongly to bring the RAM Mustang home seventh of the V8 contingent.
The second heat saw the first six cars reversed, with Clare starting from seventh place on the V8 grid.
A steady drizzle greeted the drivers in the pre-race paddock and, with a lengthy delay while marshals recovered a single seater from the barriers, the weather began to look ominous.
Although the race started in relatively dry conditions, the drizzle turned to steady rain as the heat progressed and racing on slicks was a definite challenge.
Unfortunately, Vale got stuck behind a blockade of three slithering Shelby Can-Am sports cars and ended the race seventh again, with sixth place overall for the day.
Speaking about the race, Vale commented: “It was great to be back behind the wheel of the RAM Mustang V8 Supercar again.
“It’s been a long break since my last circuit racing event, and it took a while to adjust, especially after concentrating on drifting for the last year.
“I enjoyed every moment and really started to get to grips with the car by the end of the first heat.
“I was really looking forward to race two, but, unfortunately, not even my drifting skills could find a way past the group of Shelbys in front of me at every corner.
“All in all, I loved racing with the V8 drivers again, and we’ll be back for more races this season.”
For more information about Vale, visit www.clarevale.com, or follow her on Twitter, at @clarevale.
