Steve Horne, the former boss of the 1986 Indianapolis 500 winning team Truesports racing and owner of Tasman Motorsport Group’s IndyCar team has confirmed he will be part of the inaugural, 2012 New Zealand V8SuperTourer Championship.
The US-based Kiwi who has enjoyed great success with the likes of Tony Kanaan and Helio Castroneves has returned home to New Zealand to pursue his already considerable interests in the country and is the 18th person to purchase a franchise and car for the all-new V8 series.
“Having already decided to spend most of our time living back here in New Zealand, my wife, and business partner, Christine, have both been keeping a close eye on what my former kiwi colleagues, Garry Pedersen, Mark Petch and others have been up to with their V8 Supertourer project” said Horne, who still manages IndyCar ace Kanaan.
“Having now had the opportunity to view the car and the organisation behind it, to say that we are impressed with what is essentially down to good old Kiwi ingenuity, is an understatement. Frankly speaking it has reinvigorated our motor racing interest, which has been on the wane for some time in North America.
“We are both very proud to be accepted into the V8 Supertourer community with such a warm welcome, and we are genuinely very excited at the thought of once again sitting at the trackside here again in NZ and getting to renew friendships with old acquaintances and meet new friends alike.
“The cars themselves are inspirational and when you combine genuinely very fast big-engined V8 ‘tin top’ race cars with real stars, the V8ST Series is going to be a big plus for motor racing in New Zealand. Christine and I can hardly wait to receive our first Supertourer racecar of what we plan to be eventually a two-car team.
“Whilst we have not yet finalised our driver line up, for our first car it will include a mix of raw young Kiwi talent, and for the enduros, a star Aussie import to lead our attack on the Endurance Series Championship. We may be new to V8 touring car racing; however we are an ambitious team and intent on winning first up! So we will leave no stone unturned in our quest to hit the ground running at full speed come August next year 2012.”
CEO of the V8ST Paul Radisich was delighted to welcome Horne to the series.
“Steve Horne’s motor racing credentials are without peer here in New Zealand, and we welcome both Steve and his wife Christine to our rapidly expanding SuperTourers family with open arms,” said Radisich.
“Steve will be much more than just a V8ST Team owner; he is somebody of vast experience and impeccable connections, which will be of significant benefit to the series as a whole.”
