News

27 October 2021 | General

Boys the man for 88 Racing Tasman Series campaign

JORDAN BOYS will make his S5000 debut for 88 Racing as he tackles the seven-race Tasman Series later this year.

The 23-year-old from Albury is currently in his fourth full Super2 series title campaign with Image Racing, however following a successful test at Winton last Friday will make his wings-and-slicks debut at Sydney Motorsport Park this November.

Boys will be backed by long-time supporter Joss Group when he jumps into the ACMFinance entry steered to a race win by Cooper Webster during the 2021 S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship.

After several initial taste-tests of S5000 horsepower, Boys enjoyed a full day behind the wheel at Winton on Friday, one that has the team in no doubt that he will be competitive when the Tasman Series campaign commences in a month’s time.

Boys has evolved to be one of the leading contenders in the second-tier Supercars category following a junior open wheel career that saw him finish third in the 2016 Australian Formula Ford Series.

He then stepped up into the V8 Touring Cars / Super3 series the following year before graduating into Super2 later in 2017.

He tackled last year’s Bathurst 1000 alongside Todd Hazelwood and claimed round honours in the Super2 opener at Mount Panorama earlier this year, before an engine issue saw his car disqualified.

Bathurst will, of course, host the final round of the two event, seven race Tasman Series this December.

Boys joins an expanded 88 Racing squad, one which will field two cars for the first time when the series begins at Sydney Motorsport Park in late November.

South Australian teenager Blake Purdie, a graduate from Sports Car and F3 racing, will drive the second car in a strong attack from the Melbourne-based team, headed up by former racer Albert Callegher.

The S5000 Tasman Series, which offers $50,000 in prizemoney this year, commences at Sydney Motorsport Park on November 19-21, before joining the massive six-day Bathurst 1000 event between November 30-December 5.

JORDAN BOYS

“I’ve wanted to race one of these cars for a long time and I’ve driven them a few times but it hasn’t quite worked out until now,” Boys said.

“It’s really cool. To be getting the chance to run one of these things around Bathurst is pretty crazy, I never thought that I’d get that chance. I can’t thank Albert enough for the chance.

“I had a steer of Albert’s car when he first came into the championship and then again at Sydney Motorsport Park earlier this year. At Sydney they felt like they belong there, it’s a track that the cars are built for.

“(Compared to the Supercar) the cars have a raw and a pure feeling, you feel a lot of connection to the track. There’s no power steering and the hear all the noise is a lot more.

“Racing for the Tasman Series and the Prize Money on offer is one of the things that Albert and I are trying to achieve and it will help us become more of a mainstay in the championship next year if we can get that.

“We’re pushing very hard and (to win) is the goal, for sure.”

ALBERT CALLEGHER – 88 Racing

“It’s great to do a deal with Jordan Boys to drive Car 88, thanks to his long time sponsor Joss Group,” Callegher said.

“The combination of Jordan’s experience and our engineer, who coincidentally already worked together, will make a great combination for the Tasman Series.

“The commitment, whilst only for the Tasman Series, shows that Jordan is looking for a career path and to go from Super 2 to Supercars is very limited unless you have a massive budget to take with you.

“The natural choice is S5000 as the category becomes established the Supercar teams will look to S5000 for their future drivers. S5000 in the future will no doubt produce the same results by show casing Australia top talent.”