Aaron Cameron will look to put his name into the record books when the Team Valvoline/Garry Rogers Motorsport driver attempts to win the Australian Drivers’ Championship and Gold Star this weekend at the VAILO Adelaide 500.
It is a competitive S5000 field that includes a returning International and they will also battle for the single round Tasman Cup across three races.
Former Formula 1 driver Roberto Mehri was due to return to the grid this weekend to drive the 88Racing/ACM Finance #88 car prepared by Adelaide-based Team BRM. However the Spaniard has come down with a serious case of ‘Bali-belly’ and advised the team from hospital in Bali on Tuesday, that he would be unable to continue to Australia.
His place will be taken by Kiwi Kaleb Ngatoa who quickly boarded a plane from New Zealand on Wednesday. A regular on the scene last year, twice S5000 race-winner Ngatoa has been keeping his hand in by contesting NZ’s Formula Open Series, dominating the Formula Atlantic/Pacific category at the second round of the series, at Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon three weeks ago.
Set to join Cameron at GRM will be Nathan Herne who returns from the Trans Am racing in United States. Meanwhile formula Ford graduate Kobi Williams will make his S5000 racing debut with Team BRM after he performed demonstration laps at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst International recently.
Cameron holds an 84-point lead over Versa Motorsport’s Cooper Webster in the fight for the Gold Star this year which while not insurmountable but is a comfortable lead to defend across the three races this weekend.
Webster, who is fresh from winning the final round and sealed second overall in the British GB4 championship recently, finished second behind Cameron in Adelaide last year.
The GRM squad will also have Jordan Boys who will do double duties in Super2 and Nic Carroll while
Sebastien Amadio and Ben Bargwanna who last weekend competed in Macau in a Peugeot 308 TCR car. Others who will contend are Versa’ Blake Purdie and BRM’s Mark Rosser.
The field will practice twice on Thursday, with Qualifying and the Race 1 on Friday. Two further races – one each Saturday and Sunday – complete the weekend in Adelaide. Practice 2, Qualifying and all three races will be shown live on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo Sports.
