The Mount Panorama Experience Awaits Smith

Newcastle’s (NSW) Greg Smith will have his greatest “experience of a lifetime”, since entering V8 Supercars, when he takes on the infamous Mount Panorama Bathurst circuit this weekend (October 6 – 9) as part of the support program for the V8 Supercar main series, Super Cheap Auto1000, in his Fujitsu Air Conditioning sponsored # 86 AU Falcon.

Smith and his Greg Smith Motorsport (GSM) team will tackle the 6.2km Bathurst circuit with plenty of enthusiasm with this sixth round of the Holden Performance Driving Centre (HPDC) V8 Supercar Series.

“As any Australian kid growing up, watching Bathurst would be equally exciting and I am very fortunate to race at this world class track in a V8 Supercar,” admitted Smith.

In what has been a huge learning curve in his first five race meetings for Smith and his team since joining the V8 Supercar ranks at the beginning of this year and they have laid out a strategic plan. 

“I’m not going to get too carried away thinking I’m Peter Brock or someone like Craig Lowndes with years of training and experience,” explained Smith. “Bathurst is the type of track that takes no prisoners, especially with the rookies. Thursday I will be learning the track and I aim to qualify in the top 20 of the field, then on Friday and Saturday, improve my race positions and move through the field and hopefully finish inside the top 12.”
 
Smith’s preparation for his Bathurst debut has been strong, including fitness training on the home gym six days per week and three high altitude trips to the Snowy Mountains Skiing (that’s Greg’s version). Studying past DJR Race Data (speeds, gears, brake positions etc), the Play Station 2, many old Bathurst DVD’s and actually driving his road car around the Bathurst track for 1 hour has helped to get as familiar as possible with the tricky circuit especially around the top of the mountain.

Currently ranked 19th in the HPDC series, Smith will have a his # 86 AU Falcon in tip top shape for Bathurst, after it was freshened up since the last round at Mallala Raceway in South Australia.

Smith is feeling confident and considers that his 10 years of V8 Speedway experience with be beneficial in some respects with taking on the Bathurst circuit.

“Particularly with the habit of looking far ahead on the track to anticipate the inevitable crash that needs avoiding,” mentioned Smith. “A number of the corners at Bathurst are fairly blind and when you are running at such high speeds every split second warning of “blockage ahead” is very valuable. We also have radio communication systems so that we can get warnings from either race control or my crew, who are scanning the other cars radios for comments and warnings of crashes or oil on the track.

“This year has been a dream come true and a big thank you to all my supporters, crew and especially my dedicated wife Sharon, who is equally as passionate about cars,” concluded Smith.

GREG SMITH  THANKS HIS  VALUED SPONSORS:
FUJITSU AIRSTAGE INVERTER MULTI AIR CONDITIONING

NEWCASTLE BUSINESSES:
CHURCH AIR CONDITIONING
MAMIC SMASH REPAIRS     
SIGN WAVE SIGNS
GAZAS SPORTSWEAR   
HARDY SPICER
H & BP PRINTING
CDA CONST. PRODUCTS  

RELEASE BY:    DANIEL POWELL – REDLINE MEDIA

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