Marcus LaDelle’s 99motorsport will be the newest team in the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia series with plans to compete during the 2024. The season begins at Sandown on February 9-11.
LaDelle has raced with Dick Johnson Racing in Supercars, also in Formula 3, GT Racing, RX8 Cup and most recently, in the Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia 86 category. He is also a driving coach in advanced driving, defensive driving and track days.
99motorsport has experienced a rapid development in recent years, from its start as single entry in RX8 Cup to a multi-car team in the Toyota 86s throughout 2023. La Delle raced in the main series and ran customer cars in the Scholarship Series after he dominated the first round.
The team has acquired the 2021 TCR Australia series winning Audi RS3 from Melbourne Performance Centre and took ownership today as part of preparations for its Sandown debut. The car was driven by Chaz Mostert to win the 2021 title. Will Brown then raced it to a runner up finish in 2022.
“It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks,” said LaDelle.
“I was actually put on to TCR and the Category Manager Lisa Totani by her brother Matthew, who happens to be our videographer. So that was a pretty unique way to get introduced, and as it turns out TCR fits the bill perfectly for what we planned to run in 2024.
“99 started as a personal pursuit to run my own cars, but it’s now evolved with more of a developmental program through Formula RX8 and Toyota 86. TCR is the next step for those drivers, a great category that’s commercially viable and has great synergy with the market and manufacturer relevance.
“There’s a great opportunity to bring drivers in to TCR and then give them the platform to go race in Europe, and the World Tour running down here only amplifies that.”
LaDelle wants to field two cars next season and has not ruled out having a second on the grid for the season opener at Sandown Raceway. LaDelle plans to maintain a team manager role on TCR weekends, leaving the driving seat open to prospective racers.
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