A big weekend ahead for one of South Africa’s brightest racing talents.
PRE SEASON AND LOOKING AHEAD
Twenty-one-year-old Andrew Rackstraw is entering the make-it-or-break-it years of his career. It’s that final push where he tries to make racing a full-time career, which has been his dream ever since his first laps in a kart back in 2015. Exciting times are ahead for the talented youngster who is also going to be laying the foundation in 2023 for him to compete full time internationally in 2024. Watch this space.
Andrew has set some big expectations for himself and he’s not the type of driver to settle for less, he will always give it his best. In preparation for the season ahead Rackstraw has been spending lots of time on his racing simulator at home as well as lots of time at his local karting track. Mileage is key and there’s nothing better than karting to get you racing fit and to get your sharpness exactly where you want it to be.
GTC WILL DELIGHT FANS AT THE FAMOUNS JOBURG CIRCUIT
This coming weekend the Global Touring Cars National Championship kicks off at the prestigious Kyalami circuit for Round 1 of the Extreme Festival. Some more exciting news is that Rackstraw has moved out of the old type chassis and is in the fresh-looking Volkswagen Golf 8 GTI GTC car for the start of the season. It’s a huge step up for the youngster who struggled to keep the old car on pace with the new generation cars. He is still a part of the Investchem Chemical Logistics team but will have the privilege to be running with Lee Thompsons racing team which gives him a fresh start with a team who are focused solely on his car.
Rackstraw was able to get acquainted with his new team last week during shakedown and test at Zwartkops Raceway. The test day was a great success as the Capetonian was able to set some personal best lap times which put him on par with the championship-winning car which was testing on the same day.
Lee Thompson was super chuffed with how the day went and is looking forward to working with Rackstarw in the next 2 Rounds.
COMMENTS FROM LEE THOMPSON OF LEE THOMPSON RACING
“It’s great that Lee Thompson Racing has got the opportunity to work with Andrew in the next couple of races. The deal got done a tad late so we didn’t have much time to test and familiarize ourselves.
What I thought would be a problem turned out to be a very smooth transition within two weeks, Andrew got comfortable quickly, and with the great feedback, we got onto the pace quickly.
I think he has plenty of talent and with the right equipment he will be quick.”
With the team and driver both looking forward to starting the curtain raiser event at Kyalami, we are positive it should be a good one. Especially for Rackstraw who is keen to show what he is made of in some competitive equipment.
ANDREW’S THOUGHTS
“I’m really excited going into the 1st round of the GTC championship with a newer chassis and car! The difference between the Audi and VW has been substantial and so far I’m happy with the progress we’ve made in such a short amount of time.
I look forward to seeing what can come out of this weekend. We will be doing our best to make sure we are at the front and putting on a good show for the spectators!
I will be focusing on my environment and all the things that I can control and then we shall see where we stand. Fingers crossed we don’t run into any reliability issues.
Thanks for all the support and I hope you are ready to embark on another year of racing with me. Look forward to seeing everyone at Round 1!”
Next stop Joburg!
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