Heinrich wins for lost ‘good mate’

Joel Heinrich was at his best at The Bend, driving on emotion and dedicated his Touring Car Masters hat-trick to his ‘good mate’ Shane Mann.

There was a dark cloud over the AirTouch 500 at The Bend as the paddock farewelled Mann, who tragically passed away during the weekend.

He had been a much-loved member of the Aussie Racing Cars field and suffered a tragic medical episode on Saturday.

A close friend and fellow Aussie Racing Cars driver was Heinrich, who performed double duties across the weekend.

The South Australian starred in the Whiteline Racing Camaro, winning all three Touring Car Masters championship racers.

An emotional Heinrich dedicated the success to Mann as he held back the tears during the TCM presentations.

“Shane was a good friend of ours,” Heinrich told Auto Action.

“We got him into the sport and was just a really good mate.”

Although Saturday’s second Aussie Racing Cars race was abandoned following the tragedy, Heinrich still had to take another Touring Car Masters win.

He admitted that was difficult, while he was able to focus a lot better on Sunday where he took two more commanding wins despite his Camaro losing 700 revs.

Heinrich was full of praise for his professional Whiteline Racing outfit as their charge to the TCM title hit top gear.

“I was driving on emotion yesterday for sure,” he said on Sunday.

“Yesterday was a tough day after the incident and managed to get the job done for him.

“Today my head was much more in the game and we had to really race for it because we were challenged.

“(Adam) Garwood was there in the first race and then (Ryan) Hansford in the second, but I was still sure I needed to do.

“We pressed on and the car was awesome all weekend. The Whiteline team have done a great job as they always have. They never stop trying.

“I have a home track advantage here, but it is always enjoyable to drive a fast car.”

Image: TCM

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