Daniel Gaunt will take over the Evans Motorsport Group ex-FPR Falcon for the remainder of the 2013 Dunlop V8 Supercar Series, stepping into the Ozstaff supported car for the first time at the weekend’s Winton 360.
Funding issues have forced talented rookie Kristian Lindbom to the sidelines for this round.
“We were very happy with the job that Kristian did for us,” team boss Josh Evans said. “But as much as he’s been working really hard to get the money together to complete the season, the commercial reality is that it’s very hard to secure funding at this time.
“The main game teams are finding it difficult so a Dunlop Series rookie is always going to be behind the eight ball.
“Kristian’s an important part of our team, he’ll be working with us this weekend and we’ll work hard with him to try and get him back in a car for Bathurst and Homebush.”
Gaunt, who spent time in the V8 Supercars Championship with Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport, competed in the opening rounds of this year’s Dunlop Series with Eggleston Motorsport.
Gaunt and Evans have worked together previously – Gaunt winning the 2003 Australian Drivers Championship with Evans as his mechanic.
“Luckily we’ve been able to slot Daniel in for the rest of the season,” Evans said.
“It’s nice that he’s seen the potential that we have here and that we’ve been able to come to an agreement with him in a pretty short timeframe.
“He’s got a fair bit of experience and he’s a very talented driver so we’ll be hoping that he’s on the pace straight away this weekend.”
Gaunt will also compete in the PIRTEK Enduro Cup alongside Michael Caruso in a Norton Hornets Nissan Altima.
This weekend’s Dunlop Series has one of the largest grids seen in the series, with 34 cars taking on the Victorian Winton circuit.
