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John Martin keen to return to S5000 for triple header
John Martin is working on a plan to get back into the S5000 class for the inaugural triple header events at Albert Park, Bathurst and the Gold Coast later this year.
Announced recently, the races will be held at three of Australia’s most iconic venues and will be held as part of the new 2021/22 S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship.
Martin contested the inaugural S5000 race at Sandown in 2019, qualifying on pole and finishing all three races on the podium.
Having contested the majority of his formative years in motorsport in open wheel race cars, including international Formula 3 competition and the now defunct A1 Grand Prix and SuperLeague Formula, Martin is energised by the three back-to-back races that he says are to be run on three of the world’s best tracks.
“It’s definitely on my radar,” said Martin.
“I’m looking at some options. I’ve raced S5000 before, so I have some connections with the teams so we’ll see if we can make something happen.
“It might be a bit hard at the start to match the guys who have been racing them flat out for the past 12 months, but I still feel like I could jump in one of them and go reasonably well. I just gel with those cars.”
Martin expects that European drivers would be foolish not to consider racing in the three week series, even if they had to endure a two-week quarantine period.
“These are three of the best tracks in Australia. You could probably throw Phillip Island in there too that would suit these cars, but other than that, these three are all world class, and all for different reasons,” he said.
“Albert Park is a Formula 1 circuit, and I reckon that will get some European guys interested in coming out, and it would be cool to race against them. They would all be thinking there are going to be future F1 stars, so this is an amazing opportunity for them too get to drive on the circuit if they make it to F1.
“Every kid around the world knows Bathurst. They all have it on iRacing, and it’s just one of those tracks that you want to race at.
“And the Gold Coast has all the IndyCar open wheel history, so these three circuits are a match made in heaven.
“For them to come here and race on those three tracks, it would make the two week quarantine worth it.”
The opening round of the summer series S5000 calendar kicks off at Sandown on September 17-19, followed by the first of the three consecutive triple header races at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park on November 18-21.