Right: Cranbourne’s Liam Williams scored his first Formula 500 success in the Victorian Stampede Series at Ballarat’s Redline Raceway this month.By Marc McGowan
A TWO-month absence proved the perfect tonic for Cranbourne’s Liam Williams after he collected his maiden Formula 500 victory in the Victorian Stampede Series this month.
Williams’ racing career was put on temporary hold when a broken steering arm in his vehicle caused him to crash into a wall in the final round of the Oval Express Series at Parramatta City Raceway this year.
The incident meant the 20-year-old was unable to compete in the last heat and the final of the January meeting, causing him to slip from eighth to 14th in the standings.
The car’s front end required a complete rebuild and Williams missed the Victorian Championships and the opening three rounds of the Victorian Stampede Series.
But Williams, who sustained a compressed chest and severe whiplash in the crash, is thrilled to be back in action.
“We missed four race meetings and it was a bit hard watching on the sidelines,” he said.
“It was certainly a better comeback than we expected, but we always wanted to finish in the top five drivers.”
Williams’ triumphant return could not have come at a better time with the Australian Championships to be held at Lismore Speedway on 22 and 23 March.
“It is certainly good to get a win before going into a major event like that and if I can make the final there it would be good,” he said.
“Pretty much everyone in Australia is in the Oval Express Series and competing in that helped heaps in learning about the car.
“There are not many times where you race six times in nine days and it was only my fourth ever race meeting in the class.”
Williams will have little time to reflect on his performance at the national competition, with the Victorian Stampede Series preparing to enter its busiest period.
Only two weeks after the Australian Championships, the next instalment of the series begins in Horsham.
The round will mark the start of nine straight weekends of racing for Williams.
“I’ll still just be hoping to finish top five every night because there are still plenty of good cars to beat in Victoria,” he said.
“It would be good to win every night, but that’s not going to happen all the time.”
Picture courtesy Alan Thompson.
