The Hunter River Times

BY JEM ANSHAW

When things don’t go right, you just need to focus on what positives there are.

This is sound thinking from Rylan Gray after two race meetings that didn’t go as they would have hoped – but he does have plenty of positives to look at.

He ran an Aussie Racing Car at the Thrifty Newcastle 500, which unfortunately ended up buried in the tyre wall on the last lap of race two for the weekend after contact with lapped traffic, not to make the grid for race three.

But this didn’t dampen spirits too much, since Rylan got to go behind the scenes with Supercars team Tickford Racing after being recruited as a junior driver.

“It was pretty big going to Newcastle and getting introduced to all the team and just learning what they do and get up to over the weekend,” he told The Hunter River Times

“Sitting in over practice sessions, going through the data with the team and just getting the full experience and getting ready for the next chapter, it was it was very cool to be in such a professional environment.”

Another highlight of the weekend was a visit from Denman Public School students who spent an hour checking out the car and asking their 2018 school captain questions.

Round four of the Toyota Gazoo Racing New Zealand 86’s series on the weekend was also frustrating, with top three placings in practice sessions and top three car pace in the races being hindered by botched starts and getting caught in traffic.

“I think the big picture is always in the back of your mind, but I think it’s more important to focus on round by round and race to race to keep the points up there and keep your results there so you can retain the prize at the end of the season,” Rylan explained.

“You just have to try not to get flustered and having a clear head is probably the main thing and focusing on your next session each time just to keep improving and just keep moving forward.”