WILBERFORCE’S David Sultana will forever look back fondly at his first race at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in the Aussie Race Car series.
The former go-kart driver purchased an Aussie Race Car recently and entered himself into the series, which is run as a prelude to the V8 Supercars Championship.
So far he has two races under his belt. A pressure cooker at Adelaide’s street circuit and then the legendary Phillip Island track in April.
For a bloke in his second race in a foreign car, he did not do too badly either at Phillip Island, finishing equal third on 229 points.
“It was awesome. It is a magic track , it is definitely the best race week I've been involved with,” Sultana said of his Phillip Island race, where he emerged finishing third overall from the weekend’s racing.
Sultana, who works as a diesel mechanic, was a long time go-kart racer before deciding to give himself a two-year stint in the Aussie Race Car series.
This year is a learning season according to Sultana, and in 2017, he plans to take David Sultana Motorsports and his Toyota Aurion body to near the front of the grid.
“Everything you learn in karting you bring to car racing,” he said.
Sultana said the characteristics of Aussie Race Cars and go-karts were actually quite similar, which had helped him adjust to the new car.
“The biggest thing is you have a lack of vision because you're enclosed unlike an open go-kart,” he said.
“When you're racing the speed doesn't bother you so much but yeah the lack of vision and being strapped into the car with seatbelts as well gives a different feel to racing.”
Sultana said his first race at Adelaide was confronting. The street circuit meant there was no room for error.
“It was quite daunting at Adelaide. It is all surrounded by concrete but it was a lot of fun, I just pulled myself back a bit over the first few sessions and tried to learn over the week,” he said.
“We definitely learned a lot and moved forward as the weekend progressed. Once you get comfortable and you do a few more laps it all seems to be second nature.”
Sultana said he had no grand designs of moving into the limelight of V8 racing, although would never say never.
“Don't get me wrong if I got a chance I would but unfortunately motor sport is about how much money you can bring sometimes,” he said.
While he cannot bring a swag of sponsors with him to get into the V8s, Sultana earns enough as a diesel mechanic to do what he loves.
His work comes in handy too. David Sultana racing is a three man operation, with all of theme experienced mechanics to work on and service the car.
The next stop in the series is in Darwin on June 18-19.
