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Supercars Walkinshaw Andretti United (WAU) are mourning the loss of three family members, including endurance navigator Lee Holdsworth’s father, Glenn Holdsworth.
They have also lost Marie MacDonald, the mother of long-time team manager Anthony MacDonald and the grandmother of a young team mechanic.
Glenn Holdsworth raced alongside his son in the 2014 Commodore Cup and has a long history in Australian motorsport.
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WAU paid special tribute to the trio, with a heartfelt message etched into a plaque in the team cars.
“Racing for our WAU family,” the tribute read before the three names were listed.
“Rest in peace.”
Rhianna Crehan made sure to acknowledge the triple tragedy during the broadcast of Friday’s practice session at the Perth Supersprint.
“I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate Walkinshaw Andretti United as they have had a really tough time recently in the run up to this event,” she said.
“Unfortunately they have lost some family members. Glenn Holdsworth, Lee’s father, passed away recently. Very, very sorry for the family.
“Marie MacDonald, who is the mother of Anthony ‘Maka’ MacDonald, (also deceased), and one of the young mechanics, Sylvester Tan, recently lost his grandmother.
“The team is very much about family, so they recognize those who have sadly lost their lives recently.
Neil Crompton said: “Our thoughts and feelings go out to everyone in the extended group of friends and family at Walkinshaw Andretti, it’s a nice touch.”
Lee Holdsworth is gone Bathurst champion, conquering the mountain in the navigator’s seat in 2021 alongside Chaz Mostert, who again set the pace in practice on Friday, going fastest in the conservative first practice.
Mostert led from the start with a lap time of 55.09 seconds to finish ahead of Nick Perkat (Matt Stone Racing) and James Courtney (Blanchard Racing Team) at Wanneroo Raceway.
Championship leader Will Brown was missing from the top three, with the Triple Eight team opting to test their tire strategy over the weekend rather than going full throttle.
With seven turns over 2.5km, harsh temperatures and surrounded by sand, the Western Australian circuit is notorious for high levels of tire wear.
Brown finished 18th and teammate Brock Feeney was sixth.
But Triple Eight weren’t the only team at the track focused on tire life management, with in-form Penrite Racing drivers Matt Payne and Richie Stanway finishing 21st and 17th respectively.
Perth product and reigning champion Brody Kostecki settled for seventh place.
The red flag came out less than seven minutes into the session when Thomas Randle stopped near the pit lane after sustaining a prop shaft failure.
Randle was able to get back on track and finish 20th.
A second red flag appeared with just two minutes left on the clock.
Matt Stone Racing’s Cam Hill went off the track after hitting the wall between turns, causing practice to be suspended.
Hill maintained a steady pace to stay second for most of the session before finishing eighth.
Qualifying for Saturday’s race starts at 12.20pm (AWST), followed by race nine at 4.05pm.
– With AAP
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