Records will be broken at Round 2 of the V8 SuperUte Series as the largest field in the dual-cab era of the category gets set to race at Sydney Motorsport Park next week (July 28-30, 2023).
After what’s been a three-month gap in the calendar since the season-opener in Perth in late April, a record 21 entries including two female racers – another first – will hit the Sydney circuit a week from today.
Making their debut will be Queenslander Lachlan Gardner who takes over the entry formerly run by Rob McMahon, Jensen Engelhardt takes over the second JKD Racing Toyota HiLux and will remain for the rest of the year, and Holly Espray gets her first taste of racing a V8 SuperUte after a foray in the Toyota 86 Scholarship Series.
Espray is only the second female to compete in the current era of V8 SuperUtes and will join series regular Ellexandra Best (Sieders Racing Team) on the grid next week.
“The edge-of-your-seat racing in Perth really showed the potential of how good the series can be with a bumper field, and by topping the numbers again with 21 cars in Sydney next week will only bring about more great racing,” said category operations manager Filippa Guarna.
“It feels like a completely revamped category compared to where we were 12 months ago and that’s credit to the hard work that every single person in our paddock has made. We’ve done a lot of internal restructuring, there’s been the streamlining of communications and operations, every team has stepped up in their level of presentation and professionalism, we’ve welcomed a lot of new corporate partners into the paddock and we’ve built a heap of new SuperUtes! It’s an exciting time to be part of V8 SuperUtes.”
Returning to the series after last racing at the 2022 Gold Coast finale are Chris Formosa in his Ford Ranger and Harry Gray in a Mitsubishi Triton; which was campaigned by Best in Perth this year.
While the 2023 season has already set the benchmark in terms of off-track key roles being filled by experienced women at a national level – including positions of operations, communications, photographer, engineer, mechanic and admin – Guarna says it’s another area that the category is actively seeking to grow further.
“It’s absolutely encouraging to welcome another female racer in Holly and her testing last week was really promising, to be honest. As a category, we’re proud of the extensive roles in which women play in V8 SuperUtes and we hope that young girls are taking notice of the vast opportunities available in the sport,” concluded Guarna.
Reigning champion Aaron Borg leads the series for ACDelco and SRT, ahead of Go Sunny Solar’s George Gutierrez in second and Adam Marjoram in third for Motion Team Triton Racing. The 2023 V8 SuperUte Series features six manufacturers including Ford, Holden, Isuzu, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Toyota.
Round 2 at Sydney Motorsport Park will be held from July 28-30 and will be televised on FoxSports and Kayo. The event is the start of a five-round run to the October finale on the Gold Coast and is a support to the Repco Supercars Championship.
ROUND 2 ENTRY LIST:
#1 – ACDelco Sieders Racing Team – Aaron Borg (Isuzu D-MAX)
#3 – Sieders Racing Team – David Sieders (Mazda BT-50)
#5 – Bendix Racing – David Casey (Isuzu D-MAX)
#8 – Western Sydney Motorsport – Ben Walsh (Toyota HiLux)
#15 – Motion Team Triton Racing – Adam Marjoram (Mitsubishi Triton)
#19 – Go Sunny Solar – George Gutierrez (Holden Colorado)
#33 – Coldmaster Australia / Industrial Batteries – Harry Gray (Mitsubishi Triton)
#41 – Go Sunny Solar – Adrian Cottrell (Holden Colorado)
#49 – Allgate Motorsport – Chris Formosa (Ford Ranger)
#50 – Hunter Pacific Ceiling Fans – Jimmy Vernon (Mitsubishi Triton)
#52 – JKD Racing – Dean Brooking (Toyota HiLux)
#58 – EFS 4×4 Accessories – Ryal Harris (Toyota HiLux)
#64 – Western Sydney Motorsport – Craig Woods (Toyota HiLux)
#68 – World’s Best Technology – Gerard Maggs (Ford Ranger)
#76 – Best Leisure Industries – Ellexandra Best (Mazda BT-50)
#77 – City Rural Insurance Brokers – Richard Mork (Mazda BT-50)
#96 – World’s Best Technology – Jaiden Maggs (Mitsubishi Triton)
#99 – Western Sydney Motorsport – John Steffensen (Toyota HiLux)
#707 – Roo Systems Australia – Lachlan Gardner (Mazda BT-50)
#777 – Holly Espray Racing – Holly Espray (Isuzu D-MAX)
#805 – JKD Racing – Jensen Engelhardt (Toyota HiLux)
