IT'S EVERY motorsport enthusiasts dream to be part of a winning team at Bathurst and for Bendigo pair Harrison Mustey and Will Beasy that dream came true last week.
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Will, a fabricator, and Harry, an auto-electrician, helped driver John Bowe claim the Touring Car Masters championship at Bathurst.
The Touring Car Masters features pre-1980 cars and is a support race for the V8 Supercars.
Will and Harry worked on Bowe's 1977 Holden LX Torana A9X to ensure it stayed on track for the four days of high powered racing.
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The car itself was built by Gary O'Brien and his team at Bendigo Retro Muscle Cars built the car about six years ago and it has won three championships and finished runners-up on the other three occasions.
Will started working on the car about three years ago.
After every race I'd service the car so I know it inside out
- Will Beasy
Harry only came on board two months ago but has fitted in seamlessly with the team.
Essentially, it was just the two of them working on the Torana throughout the Touring Car Masters event at last week's Bathurst 1000.
Racing for the masters began on the Tuesday with a practice session and a qualifier, then two races on Wednesday, before another race Thursday and a final race on the Friday.
Both Will and Harry agreed the preparation work in the lead-up to Bathurst made for a stress free event.
"We did a good job setting the car up," Harry said.
"The preparation beforehand made things easier when we were there."
"We only had to make small changes and tune it up a bit (between races)," Will said.
"Other teams were changing diffs and gearboxes," Harry said.
"All the work we put in on preventative maintenance meant it was up to scratch," Will said.
A month earlier they took the car to the Bathurst Challenge to test it out.
Some minor tinkering saw the car record the quickest lap of its racing career.
Will said it was gratifying to be part of the Touring Car Masters winning team and be able to sit down afterwards with a beer and relax.
"John (Bowe) can be a bit needy between races because the pressure is on but at the end he was elated. He's had a big year," Will said.
He started on a part-time basis while at school.
"I was doing a school-based apprenticeship and when I finished Year 12 I stayed on with Gary because he let me build race cars," Will said.
Harry started his career on the retail side of auto-electrical work before wanting to take the next step into motorsport.
"I met Jason (Rossiter of Custom and Restoration Services) and he did the wiring for this (John Bowe's) car."
One thing led to another and Harry was brought in be part of the Bowe racing team.
And the driver couldn't have been happier.
"The two boys, or young men I should say, Will and Harry, they were fantastic," Bowe said.
"Gary's mentored them and they've stepped up to the plate like you wouldn't believe.
I was so rapt with them. Their skill, enthusiasm, diligence, everything you want in young blokes which not many have.
- John Bowe
"I was delighted and have asked them to continue on with me next year."
Bowe said the car might have been old but it was still fast.
"The car's six years old and race cars aren't typically competitive after six years but it never missed a beat," Bowe said.
"Will and Harry went beyond the call and they have all the right qualities to go a long way in the sport."
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