HABUL CAPTURES HIS MOMENT TO SHINE
US-BASED Gold Coaster Kenny Habul has clinched the Intercontinental GT Challenge Bronze Drivers title after surviving a day of drama at the final round at Laguna Seca in California.
The title is the biggest achievement in Habul’s career which started in Formula Ford in Australia in the late 1990s and was reignited in recent NASCAR and Sportscar events.
A slower competitor drove into the side of Habul’s Mercedes-AMG GT3 early in the second hour of the race and forced him back to the paddock area on the back of a recovery truck with badly damaged steering.
His team worked frantically for two hours to get the car back in the race with the knowledge that the entry had to complete 70 per cent of the laps of the overall winner to be a finisher.
The car rejoined the field and Habul shared driving duties with co-drivers Mikael Grenier and Luca Stolz to reach the minimum number of laps with just 12 minutes remaining in the race.
The car was officially classed 27th outright and fourth in class to give him the championship.
To add to a day of excitement for Habul and his SunEnergy1 team, Tristian Vautier finished third in the outright race with his codrivers Maro Engel and Maxi Buhk in the team’s second entry to clinch the outright series title.
“Not bad for a Gold Coast boy,” said Habul, who is a law graduate from Bond University.
“What an amazing year.
“To clinch the title and have Tristian win his championship under the SunEnergy1 Racing banner at the same time is pretty special.
“This championship was not really on the radar at all at the start of the year.
“I did the Bathurst 12Hour and finished on the podium and then I became more aware about this and what it had to offer.
“We got to race on some of the coolest race tracks in the world, stuff I dreamt about when I was a kid.”