Trass Family Motorsport, New Zealand’s Ferrari Racing Team, has announced a strong all-Kiwi line up for its debut at Mount Panorama in February for the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hour race.
Multiple NZV8 and NZ SuperTourer Champion John McIntyre joins international GT3 driver Jono Lester and impressive Highlands 101 debutant Graeme Smyth in the TFM Ferrari 458 GT3, which will be the first ever Class A attempt for outright victory by a New Zealand team.
McIntyre’s significant Bathurst experience from many years of competing in the V8 Supercar endurance races is bolstered by added technical support from defending Bathurst 12 Hour Champions Maranello Motorsport; both of which will be crucial for Bathurst rookies Lester and Smyth, who will visit the famous 6.2km mountain for the first time.
“Getting to race at Australasia’s most famous circuit in one of the most famous GT3 cars is very exciting,” McIntyre said.
“I am also excited to be taking Jono and Graeme under my wing for their first drives at Bathurst.
“There’s a great vibe about this team and to think we are a Kiwi Team is special too. Thanks to TFM for the opportunity and I can’t wait to see the reaction of the drivers and the team when they get to the Mount Panorama Circuit on race week.”
TFM Team Principal Gerald Trass has seen his vision come to light despite being involved in motorsport for just six months, and Bathurst marks an exciting chapter in the team’s history.
“We are honoured to represent New Zealand at Bathurst and mark a new chapter in the history of our young team,” Trass said.
“I believe our line up and support team have the right ingredients to make us a real force, but we must not take the aura of Bathurst or the world class grid for granted.”
TFM lead driver Jono Lester, 25, joined the team off the back of two successful seasons of GT3 racing in Japan, turning heads at Highlands Park with pace that threatened the established front runners in the Australian GT Championship.
“Highlands showed what we can do; what we are capable of and it was fantastic to be challenging for the lead right out of the box,” Lester said.
“In my opinion that was just the start. Bathurst commands respect but also represents an opportunity for us to challenge with even more authority now that the drivers and crew are getting their head around the car and what makes it tick.”
Graeme Smyth, 23, is better known for his Championship wins in KZ2 shifter karts but in a whirlwind few months has been thrust into the TFM environment as a GT3 Development Driver.
Bathurst will mark Smyth’s second start with the team and ticks off a dream from the bucket list of the quietly spoken Aucklander.
“Obviously there’s going to be a lot of professional drivers from Europe which is new to me so I don’t quite know what to expect going into Bathurst,” Smyth commented.
“I’m going to approach it like any other track and build into it – we certainly won’t be out there to break the lap record in practice one.”
Car preparation is nearing completion before the race before a shakedown for all three drivers will take place at Hampton Downs in early January.
A highlights video of the TFM launch and Bathurst announcement, via Ontrack Media, is available here: http://youtu.be/WmvohG7HhTk
Partner announcements and additional details will be released shortly.
Trass Family Motorsport is supported by key partners including Continental Cars: Official Ferrari Dealer, the Ferrari Owners Club of New Zealand, Vortex Racewear, CRC, iSign It, Pixelsaurus and Broderick Print.
More details about TFM can be found on the team’s Official website at www.tfmotorsport.co.nz, or by following ‘Trass Family Motorsport’ on Facebook, and @tfmotorsport on Twitter and Instagram.
Awesome to see you kiwis doing a great job ,I will be following with interest , it is cool to see the Trass Family put a fantastic effort and dollars into a dream and then make it come true.Good Luck Race hard.
Warren