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Freak Training Accident Won’t Slow Holdsworth Down
Despite a freak accident while training between rounds, a tweaked weekend format for Trans Am at Winton has Brett Holdsworth chomping at the bit to deliver on the promising pace his Ashley Seward Motorsport Camaro has displayed in 2023.An avid bike rider, Holdsworth was back on the saddle shortly after round two of the season, riding at night when a stray D-Shackle that had been left on the road became lodged in his front tyre. Holdsworth was sent catapulting over his front handlebars, with the accident causing an AC shoulder tear.“I had a bit of a freak accident, I managed to steer straight into a D-Shackle on the road and basically locked up the front tyre,” said Holdsworth.“It was pretty eye-opening at the time, I went straight to the emergency room, but I’ve been resting up and recovery has gone very well, I’m basically back in fighting shape ready for Winton.The rare DNF result last time out at Phillip Island, Holdsworth’s first in over 12 months, may have plummeted the Breeze Holiday Parks driver down the championship order but Holdsworth’s spirits are as high as ever after an equal personal best qualifying performance and a podium in the very same weekend.“We haven’t had the start to the year we were after, despite showing some strong pace,” said Holdsworth.“That podium at Phillip Island was awesome for the team but we want to be a regular feature in those positions. It felt like we found the sweet spot in qualifying last round. If we can nail that again it will go a long way to a strong weekend. Winton is a very technical track and passing can often be pretty tricky to get done cleanly.”After three equidistant races for each of the two rounds so far in the 2023 season, Trans Am will enjoy a 100km feature race on Sunday at Winton following two traditional sprints. Last time the series employed the 100km feature format was at the Bathurst International.Holdsworth’s form at Bathurst was his best in the category so far, with the #99 spending much of the race in second place before a late-race incident.“I love the longer races, they really play to my strengths,” said Holdsworth.“We did the 100km race at Bathurst and it was our best round for the entire year, we should have finished second in that one behind Nathan Herne who was basically unbeatable but we got tagged from behind on the last lap.“There’s no holding back for us at Winton. We’ve got to get out on the front foot and start racing our way back towards the top of the championship. We haven’t been firing off as well as we’d like early on in the races, but we’ve been coming back pretty well towards the end so the extra distance in race three is going to help us out quite a lot.Round three of the 2023 Trans Am season takes place at Winton Raceway from June 9-11 as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries.