Herne slogs it out for sensational TA2 podium

By Timothy Neal

Date posted: 12 March 2023

Nathan Herne stormed from P15 to P2 to take his maiden American Trans Am TA2 podium at New Orleans in a brilliant come from behind drive.

After topping practice Herne then struggled in the Cube3 Mustang with an admittedly disappointing qualifying, starting the race in P15 at NOLA Motorsports Park in extremely hot conditions.

In an absolute thriller, Herne took P2 on the second last corner to finish just 0.060 seconds behind winer Brent Crews in the #70 Mustang.

Herne withstood extremely hot conditions and a failed cooling system to race from P15 to P2 in an epic 37 lap encounter at NOLA

“I’ve worked hard before, but Jesus Christ. P15-P2 on the line,” Herne explained.

“Cool suit failed, no helmet fan, and lost my drink straw on the 8th lap. It’s a hot, humid place here at NOLA, that was hard work.

“We’re fast, got to tune up this straight line handling to keep up with the others, but we were bad fast around the corners.

“Looking forward to the weekend off, then we’re back at Road Atlanta! Good to give the boys a trophy! It’s been an awesome time, good to get some championship points!”

Herne had moved his way up in P7 by lap 6 when a caution drew a tight field back together, before the Aussie Stevens-Miller Racer got the jump into P6 on the lap 9 restart.

Herne is turning heads in his debut American Trans Am TA2 series, taking it to the field in his Cube3, Stevens-Miller Racing Mustang

Another full course caution was flagged, and on the restart, Herne jumped the 2022 champion Thomas Merrill to move into P4 on what is considered a difficult track to pass on.

Stuck in a tight four-way battle up front, Herne bided his time to move into P3 on lap 22 of 37, then started hunting down former IndyCar driver Rafa Matos.

The #29 S-MR Mustang withstood extreme pressure from fourth to work onto the tail of Matos, and on the final lap, a lock-up front the leader Brent Crews put Herne in the frame for a last ditch lunge, taking Matos on the inside for P2 on the second last corner in a thriller.

Herne’s next date with the TA2 American Trans Am tour gets underway at Road Atlanta on march 23-26.

To watch a replay of the Aussies brilliant podium, click the link to the GoTransAm Youtube channel, where you can watch all races and qualifying live, or on replay.

For more of the latest motorsport news, pick up the latest issue of AUTO ACTION.

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Herne slogs it out for sensational TA2 podium

In an absolute thriller, Herne took P2 on the second last corner to finish just 0.060 seconds behind winer Brent Crews in the #70 Mustang.

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