News
John Martin joins Shannons Tasman Series grid
FORMER Aussie international open-wheel star John Martin will join the Shannons S5000 Tasman Series grid for the categories debut at Mount Panorama next week.
Martin will join Luis Leeds in a two-car team run by AGI Sport, driving the same car Ben Bargwanna raced at Sydney Motorsport Park last weekend.
Aaron Cameron, who superbly won the opening round at Sydney Motorsport Park last week, will also do double-duties at Mount Panorama as he returns to his Valvoline GRM entry in a bid to claim the Tasman Cup and the $30,000 champions prize that goes with it.
Cameron was a revelation in his wings and slicks debut as he powered away from the field to win the Sydney feature race in torrentially wet conditions.
As a result, he leads Spanish ex-F1 ace Roberto Merhi and Tim Macrow by 19 points following the three races in Sydney last weekend.
John Martin’s addition to the grid adds more experienced open-wheel firepower to the Bathurst field as S5000 tackles the Mountain for the first time.
Martin, who currently races for the Wall Racing Honda team in the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series, raced at a high-level in international open-wheel racing including the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, Super League Formula and British Formula 3.
He is also an S5000 ‘original’, having won the feature race at the categories’ second ever event at The Bend Motorsport Park in late 2019.
Bargwanna will focus on his Supercheap Auto TCR Australia duties at Bathurst, having only planned to contest the opening Tasman round with Garry Rogers Motorsport.
Cooper Webster will also sit out the Bathurst event – his new Versa Motorsport team focussing on their plans for a full campaign on the 2022 S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship.
The Shannons S5000 Tasman Series takes to the track for a pair of 30-minutes of practice sessions next Tuesday, prior to qualifying on Wednesday and the first of four races on Thursday.
Subsequent races will be held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning to conclude the seven-race Tasman Series.
Coverage throughout the event will be shown live on Fox Sports, Kayo Sports and the Seven Network.
ENTRY LIST – Shannons S5000 Tasman Series, Round 2
| Car # | SPONSOR | DRIVER | STATE | VEHICLE | CC | COLOUR |
| 1 | ALABAR/Form700 Team BRM | Joey Mawson | NSW | S5000 | 5200 | Black/White/Red |
| 18 | Team Valvoline GRM | Aaron Cameron | VIC | S5000 | 5200 | Blue |
| 23 | UCS Group Racing TMR | Tim Macrow | VIC | S5000 | 5200 | Orange/Black |
| 24 | AGI Sport | John Martin | NSW | S5000 | 5200 | Blue |
| 28 | PAYCE Alabar/Form700 | Yoshiaki Katayama | JAP | S5000 | 5200 | Blk/Blue/Red |
| 29 | Team Valvoline GRM | Nathan Herne | NSW | S5000 | 5200 | Blue |
| 31 | Team Valvoline GRM | James Golding | VIC | S5000 | 5200 | Blue |
| 48 | Nippy’s | Blake Purdie | SA | S5000 | 5200 | White/Orange |
| 88 | Joss/ACMFinance | Jordan Boys | VIC | S5000 | 5200 | Blue/Pink |
| 98 | PAYCE Alabar/Form700 | Roberto Merhi | ESP | S5000 | 5200 | Black/White/Red |
| 101 | Hagane Systems/AGI Sport | Luis Leeds | VIC | S5000 | 5200 | Yellow |