Erebus Motorsport owner Betty Klimenko has expressed the overwhelming emotion of seeing her three AMG E-Class V8 Supercars hit the track for the first time at the Clipsal 500 this morning.
The three-pronged AMG attack struggled for pace in practice with Lee Holdsworth (Irwin Racing), Tim Slade (Heavy Haulage Racing) and Maro Engel (SP Tools Racing) 16th, 25th and 27th in the final session before qualifying.
“I was fine before the cars went out and then I turned to Ryan (Maddison – Erebus Motorsport CEO) and saw the tears in his eyes,” she said.
“When I turned around in the garage, I saw all of the Erebus Motorsport GT guys standing in a line to support me – I couldn’t help but start crying! They were supposed to have a quiet day today but they were here first thing this morning to support the entire team.
“Even our German technician that’s with us this weekend had tears in his eyes, when I saw that I knew today was something special and it wasn’t just me!”
Klimenko praised the efforts of the former Stone Brothers Racing outfit to get the cars on track after just 109 days.
“109 days is just a number, I prefer to say three months,” the colourful owner said.
“It’s been a great amount of time and commitment just to get the cars here, let alone looking so spectacular on track.”
The fan attention for the Sydney-sider – who is sporting a combination of purple, pink and blue in her hair in Adelaide this weekend – has been intense since she first entered the circuit yesterday morning.
“It’s fantastic, it really is, I am enjoying meeting the fans and the passion they have for what we’re doing is truly pleasing. I’m meeting people from all over Australia and especially women that had an interest and have now got a passion for motor racing.”
Meanwhile Klimenko’s pair of SLS AMG GT3’s locked out the front row with former Formula 1 racer, Christian Klien outpacing Kiwi legend Craig Baird.
