Mike Sheargold Set for Miracle Racing Return
RAM Motorsport GT World Challenge Australia driver Mike Sheargold is set to make a miraculous comeback to racing, just six weeks after undergoing major bowel cancer removal surgery.
Sheargold was yesterday given the green light by his surgeon to compete in Round 4 of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS, taking place at this weekend’s Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight at Sydney Motorsport Park, and will return to his regular driving duties alongside Garth Walden in the Mercedes-AMG GT3.
“After all the physical and mental challenges of the last couple of months, I’m really looking forward to returning to a competitive and fun environment this weekend, where I can focus on doing something I really enjoy,” Sheargold said.
“I might not be at my absolute peak fitness levels, but I’m not far away and I don’t anticipate any struggles with driving the car.”
While the surgery to remove the bowel cancer was successful, Sheargold is set to undergo a chemotherapy cycle as an added precaution.
“The specialists said that without doing chemo, there’s a 70 per cent chance the cancer won’t return, but with a dose of chemo, that increases to 85 per cent, so it’s worth it for the extra protection,” Sheargold said.
“Of course, chemo can be quite a brutal process and may affect my racing programme for the rest of the season, which is why it’s important to make the most of this weekend.”
Following his bowel cancer diagnosis and successful surgery, Sheargold created the N2YGT3 campaign to raise funds for Bowel Cancer Australia. To date, the initiative has raised almost $120,000, smashing the initial target of $100,000, but Sheargold has increased the fundraising goal.
“We reached our original milestone of $100,000 very quickly, but now we’re aiming for $150,000,” he said.
“With this weekend’s visibility of the Bowel Cancer Australia livery on the race car and the exposure of being at a Supercars Championship event, I’m hopeful some more donors will come forward and push us towards our new target.”
Sheargold paid tribute to the extended motorsport community for their support.
“The amount of support I’ve had from within the racing industry has been unbelievable, and quite overwhelming,” he said.
“As well as my GT rivals and GWR Australia team-mates, I’ve had people from other categories reaching out including (Supercars driver) Thomas Randle, who has obviously been through his own cancer journey. He offered some words of encouragement and support, which meant a lot.
“Also, Dylan O’Keeffe, who we’ve been supporting in Carrera Cup, has been conducting his own fundraising initiative with Dry July, which has generating some valuable contributions.
“Sydney Motorsport Park is our home track, and there will be a lot of friends and family members attending, as well as people who’ve already donated, so Garth and I are both highly motivated to bring home some silverware with an Am Class podium,” Sheargold concluded.
This weekend’s pair of one-hour races will be shown live on Fox Sports and Kayo.
Donations to the N2YGT3 campaign can be made here - https://n2ygt3.gofundraise.com.au/
GT World Challenge Round 4 Schedule
Friday, 28 July
8:45am – Practice 1 (40 min)
11:40pm – Practice 2 (40 min)
2:05pm – Qualifying 1 (10 min)
2:20pm – Qualifying 2 (10 min)
Saturday, 13 May
2:55pm – Race 1 (60 min)
Sunday, 14 May
10:45am – Race 2 (60 min)