The life of a racing driver is never simple, especially when you are studying a
Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) while competing in the Kumho V8 Touring Car Series.
Nathan Assaillit, who is part of the
USQ Elite Athlete program, rushed to finish his assignments while preparing his car for the second round of the V8 Touring Car Series that took place at Mallala in South Australia in April.
Assaillit’s BF Ford Falcon was damaged in the final race of round one at Sydney Motorsports Park, leaving him with an uphill battle to be prepared for round two.
“Since Sydney I have been working on the car and I have also been working on assignments – I had two due on the Friday morning of the Mallala race but as I left Thursday, I had to get them done early,” Assaillit said.
“It is really good to know that I have USQ supporting me and if I didn’t manage to get the assignments done on time, they know of my commitments and we can work around it through what is offered in the Elite Athletes Program.
“It is definitely good knowing I have the support of my university.”
Assaillit was strong at Mallala – a track he has never visited before.
“I had never driven at Mallala before, but I had been watching plenty of in-car footage to try and get me up to speed with the track, it has a lot of different aspects to it so produces exciting racing,” Assaillit continued.
The weather at Mallala was appalling and so was Assaillit’s luck. A broken axle in race one put him out of contention. Driving rain didn’t help matters in race two but in race three, he fought back to finish seventh.
Opportunities to join Assaillit in studying at USQ for semester 2 are open, and more information can be found here -
www.usq.edu.au/future-students
USQ is an Elite Athlete Friendly University (EAFU) Network. The Network was established by the Australian Institute of Sport to assist athlete achieve their sporting and academic potential.
Round three of the Kuhmo Tyres V8 Touring Cars will take place at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit in Victoria on May 24-26 as part of the Shannons Australian Motor Racing Nationals.
Click here to watch Nathan in action at Sydney Motorsport Park for round one of the Shannons Nationals.
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