Cameron Hill has narrowly avoided a catastrophe in qualifying for Round 8 of the Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia at the Gold Coast 600 today, after a high-speed spin sent his Porsche 911 GT3 dangerously close to the unforgiving concrete barriers.
Hill had just recorded the fastest first sector of the session, when his car became unsettled over the kerbs at the notorious Beach Chicane. Miraculously, Hill avoided any damage and, after a pit stop to take on a fresh set of tyres, he was able to qualify in seventh position for tomorrow’s opening race.
“After this morning’s practice sessions, I felt we needed to improve the car and we made a lot of setup changes,” Hill said.
“In qualifying, it felt faster but it was also much more of a handful, and over the kerbs it broke loose.
“I can’t believe I didn’t end up in the fence; normally, if you have an incident in that part of the track, it has serious consequences and we’ve seen some big crashes in Carrera Cup and other categories over the years.”
Hill acknowledged it will be difficult to make up places from seventh on the grid, but said he will give it his best shot.
“Overtaking will be challenging, so it will be a case of keeping the pressure on the other cars and being ready to capitalise on opportunities that present themselves,” he said.
Tomorrow’s opening Carrera Cup race, the longest of the weekend, starts at 1:25pm (2:25pm in NSW and Victoria) and will be held over a 28-lap distance.
