Fitzsimmons Battles the Concrete Jungle at Gold Coast Carrera Cup
The Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia delivered an unforgiving challenge at the iconic Surfers Paradise Street Circuit for Round 7 (October 24–26), marking a true baptism of fire for young Queenslander Hamish Fitzsimmons.
Following a career-best P4 finish just two weeks prior at Bathurst, the momentum was high, but preparation time was non-existent. The Gold Coast street track, infamous for its high-speed, concrete-lined layout and demanding high-commitment chicanes, became a profound mental and physical test for Hamish in his first-ever appearance.
"The quick turnaround from Bathurst means the mental game is huge this weekend," Hamish explained. "We've got to adapt instantly. Surfers is a true mental test, especially as a rookie here, where surgical precision over those flat kerbs is everything."
Day 1: Immediate Attack and Promising Pace
Hamish immediately showed his commitment to the street fight in Friday's practice sessions.
In Practice 1, he pushed his Porsche 992 GT3 Cup car hard over the aggressive kerbs to carry maximum corner speed, finishing P12 and sporting "scars" on the car's rear quarter panels—a testament to his zero-margin-for-error style. After a productive debrief, he returned in Practice 2 with sharper focus, climbing to P11. Though heavy on-track traffic prevented a clean, ideal lap time, the underlying pace achieved was a promising indicator for the critical qualifying session ahead.
Day 2: Setbacks and Unstoppable Carnage
Saturday started with disaster striking in Qualifying. On his second push lap, the tricky beach chicane bit back. Hamish made contact with the concrete wall on the exit, piercing his right radiator and causing significant front-end damage. The session was red-flagged, his fastest lap was deleted, and he was unable to continue. He qualified P17 for Race 1 and P15 for Race 2.
The Gold Coast heat rose for Race 1, and Hamish was determined to redeem his qualifying misfortune. Starting P17, he made a blistering start, advancing four positions on the opening lap.
However, the racing gods were not on his side. On Lap 2, immediately in front of him, a multi-car pile-up erupted at the Turn 1/2/3 chicane. While Hamish was in the perfect position to potentially capitalize and avoid the initial incident, a junior driver involved in the initial carnage speared across the track and made heavy front contact with the Fitzsimmons car, dislodging his right wheel and causing significant structural damage.
The race was red-flagged and ultimately declared a non-start. The incident took a devastating toll on the field, with nine cars involved and four unable to continue for the rest of the weekend due to the damage, including Hamish.
"A tough weekend, I’d rather put behind me," a shattered Hamish Fitzsimmons said. "A mistake in qualifying exiting the beach chicane was a huge loss in momentum as the car felt strong. Turning to Race 1, the car felt good, and I was able to move through the field on the first lap. Hugely disappointed I could not finish the weekend, but I walked away uninjured, and we’ll focus on the next round."
Despite the challenging nature of street circuits, the team will now focus on a massive rebuild effort ahead of the final rounds of the season.
