Leahey and his Ashley Seward Motorsport-prepared BMW M4 GT4 G82 were in Am Cup at the Phillip Island opening round, yet still finished in the top three overall of Race 1.
For Round 2, Leahey and the ASM team have decided to move up to the Silver class and see outright success a distinct possibility.
“We finished third outright at Phillip Island, but then you kind of get a penalty for finishing first (in Am),” said team owner Seward.
“We felt, with how we were going, it gives us a disadvantage, so we want to win outright.
“If I’m honest, we always wanted to be considered as an outright threat – we’re certainly not going there to be just a number.
“Tim is a great driver. If anything, underrated. He is racing against young kids and ex-Super 2 guys. We want to go home with an outright win.
“Aiming for the outright overall series win might be hard, as we’ve given everyone a one round head start, but you never know. We are confident in Tim and the BMW M4 package.
“I think that the West circuit is going to produce some exciting racing. There’s going to be some big lunging under brakes that could create some excitement. It’s going to create some good racing.”
ASM will orchestrate four entries across four categories at the Shannons SpeedSeries event this weekend.
A race winner TCR Australia at Symmons Plains earlier this season, Dylan O’Keeffe will strive to improve his eighth points standing in the Lynk & Co 03 TCR.
In Trico Trans Am, Mark Bailey will continue his improvement in the Chev Camaro and is contention for Masters Cup honours after Phillip Island and a recent test day at The Bend.
ASM also has Ross McGregor in the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge in a 991.2 GT3 Cup Car and a contender in the Pro-Am Class.
“Of all the competitors and teams I’ve spoken to, they’d probably prefer to be on the bigger circuit, but we also understand the reasons why they have come up with this,” Seward added.
“The West circuit still offers plenty for the drivers, and there’s still plenty of flow in the circuit, with the addition of a big stop at the end of the back straight.
“Four cars across four categories is a big undertaking, but all of our preparation is spot on.
“We’re fortunate that Trans Am and TCR are opposite each other garage wise. They’ll work out of one truck. Our GT4 and Porsche entries are in pit lane, and only 25 metres apart. We’ve been fortunate that it has all aligned pretty well.”
All up, ASM will have 18 team personnel to support its four entries on the Shannons SpeedSeries program.
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