Australian V8 Supercar driver Tony D’Alberto returns to the BNT NZ SuperTourers championship for his third stint as a co-driver in the endurance races, this time partnering Angus Fogg in his PropertyTutors Commodore.
The three endurance events, starting with the Rush Security Taupo 400 on September 27-28, form the first section of the 2014-2015 overall championship.
“Tony’s raced here in BNT NZ SuperTourers before, with Andy Booth and Mitch Cunningham,” Fogg says. “So he’s got that valuable experience in our category – plus he’s a Holden driver contracted to Walkinshaw Racing”.
The Walkinshaw group runs the Holden Racing Team and also the Supercheap Commodore for Tim Slade, with whom D’Alberto drove to 12th place in the Sandown 500 race at the weekend. Fogg’s car is also a Holden.
D’Alberto won the 2007 V8 Supercars Development Series and finished sixth at Bathurst that year, co-driving with Steve Owen. He entered the top category in 2008 with his own family-run team.
Last year he drove a Walkinshaw Holden, with his best results being a pair of fourth placings. This year he is contesting the three V8 Supercar endurance events with Slade, and he aims to return to full-time Supercar racing next year.
“I absolutely love coming over to compete in the V8 SuperTourers, this will be my third year. The cars are great to drive and the racing format is a lot of fun” says D’Alberto “When Foggy called, I jumped at the chance to join his team for the endurance series!”
Fogg, a former champion in the NZV8 category, is looking forward to the new season with increased confidence after scoring his first BNT NZ SuperTourers victory at Pukekohe in March.
He and his team had the PropertyTutors Commodore set up just right that day at Pukekohe and he ran away from the field to score a dominant victory.
“It’s the old story – 10 little things add up,” Fogg says. “We had done a lot of work on the car in the off-season but never got a chance to show it until the Pukekohe round”.
“A lot of that work – driver seating position and all sorts of little stuff – all adds up, when you’re only looking for a ‘whisker’. It’s so close at the front. I’m really looking forward to teaming up with Tony and giving Taupo a good crack next weekend!”
