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Garry Rogers Motorsport young brigade leads its National Trans Am success
Garry Rogers Motorsport driver Lochie Dalton has credited the Melbourne team’s success to the young engineers and mechanics behind the scenes as he runs second to teammate James Moffat in the standings ahead of Phillip Island.
Now in his second season of National Trans Am Series racing, Dalton has heaped praise on the GRM crew on the environment created at GRM.
“We’ve got a pretty close knit group,” he summarised.
“We have a pretty young crew and we get along really well, we’re really tight, really close, which leads to good communication. As soon as one of the drivers feels there is a problem, we’ll talk amongst ourselves to find a solution pretty quick.”
Noted for its development of young motorsport talent, Dalton is one himself having been plucked from Tasmania and proven to be a frontrunner in National Trans Am straight away.
Although he didn’t win on home turf at AWC Race Tasmania, Dalton was satisfied with his results across the weekend.
“I’m happy with the weekend, but I look back and think of areas to improve,” Dalton explained.
“I was probably a little too friendly in Race 1 and gave away some positions to end up sixth.
“I really wanted to get a result at home, I’m still after a win there, but I’m happy with how the season started.
“We’ve put ourselves in a good spot for the series.”
Also contributing to the strength of the young brigade within GRM’s Dandenong facility are experienced heads including Garry and Barry Rogers, Marcos Ambrose, Moffat, Owen Kelly and many stalwarts loyal to the plucky squad.
Dalton reflected on Moffat’s race knowledge and how he used it to repel his attack at Symmons Plains.
“Credit to Moff, he can drive,” he expressed.
“After the safety car restart in Race 3, I thought I almost had him as I started to reel him in and I think he was just watching me because as soon as I got relatively close he’d just pluck another gear.
“He literally didn’t make a mistake all weekend.”
Victoria’s premier circuit, Phillip Island marks the continuation of the season following a two month break and Dalton has warned the results will be unpredictable.
“Phillip Island is great to go racing at as these cars are well suited to the circuit, with its long straights and fast corners,” he detailed.
“Last year, the racing was pretty crazy at the front and you never know what’s going to happen, there’s still a long way to go.”
Dalton is 14-points behind teammate Moffat heading to Phillip Island for Round 2 of the National Trans Am Series forming part of a stacked Shannons SpeedSeries schedule on May 12-14.