Sherrin Racing has dug deep to deliver nothing short of a monumental fight back at the 2024 Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour today to bring their #27 Sherrin Rentals BMW M4 from the very back and three laps down on the 58-strong field to cross the line sixth outright and 4th in Class X.

The 2018 Bathurst 6 Hour winning team started the race from P11 after a red flag thwarted their flying lap in qualifying the day prior after having run P7, P3 and P9 across the three practice sessions, with Iain Sherrin starting the race and picking off two positions across the opening lap.

On lap two, while in P9 and on the approach to McPhillamy Park, Iain unfortunately then found himself turned around into the sand by another competitor, bringing out the first safety car of the race.

While Iain and the #27 were able to resume, they were now dead last in P58 and three laps down, with Iain forced to nurse a very buckled wheel to the 30 minute mark when the Compulsory Pit Stop (CPS) window would open.

Not ones to be easily dissuaded, all at Sherrin Racing put their heads down and went to work, with Iain making his way back to P40 across the following 75 minutes before handing over to Grant, who then took it to P29 at the close of the first two hours.

By the close of the third hour, Grant had worked up to P15 and the #27 was back in sight of the lead lap, before handing over to Iain in the fourth hour, with the entry P13 with two hours left to run. By this time, they had also completed four of their six compulsory pit stops, with great strategy calls from the team in the pits ensuring they played those to their best advantage, and for a short time managed to get back on the tail end of the lead lap.

As the clock approached the final hour and a race of attrition unfolded across the field, Iain brought the M4 into the pits in P8 to hand over to Grant, who went on to advance across the final 60 minutes to P7 and then P6 for the close of this intense race which at times resembled more of a sprint race than a six hour enduro.

Making the comeback drive – which was heralded by the commentators throughout the later stages of the event – even more remarkable is the fact Sherrin Racing was not immune from the late race car issues either, managing steering problems in the later stages.

“It was certainly a disappointing start to the race, but to fight back like that feels really good,” Iain Sherrin said.

“I think realistically, with the three professional drivers (Supercars racers Jayden Ojeda, Thomas Randle and Will Davison) driving the top three cars at the end, I think they were probably too quick for us, so I think to get back to where we did was pretty good, especially considering we were three laps down and in P58 on lap two.  

“After being put into the sand, I was happy to be able to get going again but I had to try and get through to the half hour marker before I could bring the car in and the car was terrible with a really buckled wheel, but we got it there and after that, the car was much better.

“We did have some steering issues in Grant’s second last stint and my last stint where if we were too close behind the car in front it would get hot and lose power steering – I did three laps without power steering there at one point and I can tell you, I never want to do that again!” he laughed.

“As always, our team was absolutely awesome. Dad (Michael Sherrin) and David Ayres were on the strategy all day and did an awesome job getting us back to the pointy end, and we got the right drive by the safety car when we needed to, so they did an amazing job.

“The whole crew did fantastic too – our stops were faultless, even to the point that in the last stop one of our crew noticed we had a blistered tyre and called that so we could get another on there for Grant – it might not have been the best tyre to have on there at that stage of the race and the balance was a bit affected, but that could have easily been a blow-out half way through that final stint and just goes to show how much our guys are on it. Our whole team really is just brilliant, and I cannot thank them enough.

“It was definitely a very eventful race, so to get back to P6 outright and P4 in class is quite amazing and something I think we can all be very proud of.”

Grant echoed his brother’s statements when reflecting on what was a truly frenetic six hours of racing for the entire field.

“It was not a great feeling to be in the sand trap on the second lap, that is for sure. It was a huge effort to get back to where we did outright and in class, even in the face of a few things that were thrown at us, and the team did a phenomenal job,” Grant said.

“There is no doubt that it was a real team effort. There was some really good strategies from Dave and Dad (Michael Sherrin) planning us out and getting us through, allowing us to be able to pick our way back through the field which was really good, and everyone in the team just dug deep and did what they had to do to get us there. It was a fantastic effort by all of them.

“It really would be interesting to see what we could have done if we had not had to work our way all the way back through.

“With the strategies and the pit stops by the boys, we might not have had the outright pace of the front runners, but I think definitely we could have got a really good result, but it is what it is, and what it is is a really good fight back.

“I can tell you for sure I am much happier with sixth outright and 4th in class than I was P58 and three laps down on lap two this morning!” he laughed.

“We might not be on the podium, but we are all still ecstatic to have a fight back like that, and we thank everyone involved for all of their support and backing of us this weekend.”

Sherrin Racing Team Principal, Michael Sherrin, added: “we might have had better results in the past, but I think that would have to be up there with one of the best races we have ever been involved with, and certainly one of the best performances I have ever seen from my team.”

Sherrin Racing will next be on-track for round two of the 2024 Australian Production Cars season, to be held at The Bend Motorsport Park across May 31st to June 2nd, 2024.

Sherrin Racing is supported on-track by Wirtgen Group, Spaceframe, Hi-Tec Oils, Custom Plastic Fabrication, Industrial Protective Coatings Qld (IPCQ), Action Mechanical Specialists, Welding Solutions, Symmetry Engineering, Brisbane Isuzu, Hydraulink Brisbane North, Dynapac CEA, Clark Equipment, Great Whites Lighting, Sherrin Rentals and Sherrin Equipment. For more information, visit www.sherrinracing.com.au