BATES FIGHTS ILLNESS IN SHANGHAI PRACTICE

PRESS RELEASE/Tony Bates Racing – photo: supplied

Tony Bates is refusing to allow a head cold to affect his on-track performances in the Audi R8 LMS Cup races at Shanghai this weekend.

Despite not feeling 100 per cent during each of today’s 45-minute practice sessions, the Moveitnet/Local Roadways/C-Tech LaserAFS/Bryant & Bryant driver bravely pressed on, accumulating valuable time in the car before he decided to pit mid-way through the second session when his illness became too much to bear. He was seventh and 10^th-fastest in the two sessions.

“Today was a tough one – I’ve been riddled with a migraine and there were a couple of times I thought my head was going to explode,” Bates said.

“I was physically ill after both sessions – I’ve never experienced being so unwell in a car in my whole career.

“I knew I needed to learn the track, so I pushed through the pain and did as many laps as I could. I feel like I have my head around the circuit now, and there’s definitely a lot more speed to be found tomorrow.

“My focus is on resting up overnight and giving myself a chance of being in the best-possible physical condition to be fighting at the front.”

Qualifying for Round 5 of the R8 LMS Cup will be held at 1:15pm (Australian Eastern Time) tomorrow; the race will be held at 6:25pm. Live streaming will be available HERE

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