Nathan secures 2nd placing in QLD Series at Charlton
Tuesday February 16, 2010

Click here to view photos from the event

Nathan Macdonald raced to a solid 2nd place finish in Round three of the Exide Batteries Nambour QLD Series at Charlton Raceway with Shane Macdonald crossing the line in 9th position.  Nathan started the 30 lap final from 14th, and raced past many top drivers through the field utilising his home track advantage on his way to a 2nd place finish behind race winner Greg Worling.  Early in the race, Nathan took a few laps before he began his surge forward. 

Finding some speed around the top part of the track, Macdonald found himself in 3rd place when there was a stoppage after Peter Gray was parked in turn four.  Nathan drove around Gavin Lorensen for 2nd, when there was another restart.  Macdonald realising how close he was to a victory, but with former National Champion Greg Worling in front of him, it wasn't going to be easy.  With nine laps to go, Nathan ran on the tail of Worling for two laps when the brake pedal went straight to the floor, Nathan adjusting his race line as Greg Worling proved too Strong and drove away to victory, Nathan crossing in second and Gavin Lorensen 3rd.

Shane started the night off with a 4th place in his first heat after starting from the third row on the grid, while Nathan's first heat saw him have an exciting dice for 2nd place with Dennis Bullpitt and Darran White.  Nathan eventually crossing the line in 4th place.

Heat two saw Shane and Nathan line up in the same heat.  Shane from position four and Nathan from position seven.  Shane stamping his mark early racing into 2nd, until a slight error saw him fall back to 5th.  Nathan was now advancing through the field to 6th, and made a move up the inside of his brother to annex 5th place.  In what was a rather frightening turn of events, Nathan's right front wheel come off which sent him spearing straight into the concrete wall.  Macdonald went in hard at race speed and was more shocked than hurt, with the rest of the night uncertain as to the condition of the car.  Shane was able to complete the race in 5th.

With work to do back in the pits, The car was in reasonable shape considering the impact it just received.  The cause of the crash being a broken front stub axle.  A new steering rack and suspension components and the car was right to go again with many thanks to all that helped out.

Many people commented later on that they didn't expect to see Nathan's car back out after the nasty impact, a testament to strong Chassis built by RCP Machining.

The third and final heat saw Shane and Nathan once again in the same heat, both cars lined up on the second row.  Nathan settled into 3rd place and soon made his way into 2nd behind Todd Doyle.  Nathan chasing the tail of Doyle for several laps, with Doyle the eventual winner from Macdonald.  Shane ran wide which saw him fall back to 5th.

This coming weekend the 20th February will see Shane and Nathan travel to Gympie Speedway for the unique 30/30 event race coinciding with Round 4 of the Exide Batteries Nambour QLD Series.  The event will see the two brothers using Shane's QLD title winning car, after Shane has proven the performance of the car at Gympie before.  Then with only 2 weeks before departure, Shane and Nathan will prepare for the trip to Tasmania for the national title.

Macdonald Racing for the 2009/2010 season is supported by -

Toowoomba Steering and Suspension
Forbes Batteries
Linmac Automotive
RCP Machining
Repco
The Speed Shop