Garry Rogers Motorsport will return to a race track on Monday when it shakes down its Supercheap Auto TCR Australia cars and runs two Super2 drivers in S5000 machinery.
Josh Fife and Matt Chahda will cut their first laps in S5000 cars at Winton, ahead of the resumption of the Dunlop Super2 Series at Sydney Motorsport Park on November 19-21.
That event also marks the start of the Tasman Cup for the V8-powered open-wheelers, while Supercheap Auto TCR Australia’s finale supports the Repco Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama from November 30.
“We’re taking two cars up there on Monday where we’ve got Josh Fife and Matt Chahda having a day,” said GRM team manager Stefan Millard.
“They were keen to get involved and have a drive of an S5000. Hopefully they enjoy the day and it goes from there.
“We packed up the three trucks yesterday and it’s just good to get back to the track. This off-season feels longer than the last to be honest, even though 2020 was a much drawn-out duration.
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“Monday is all about firing everything back up again and just trying to get into some sort of rhythm before we return to racing.”
Fife had a rapid rise from karting to Super2, via a race-winning season in Super3, but the S5000 will be a new proposition for the Canberran.
“We’ve obviously had a big break after Townsville and I was scheduled to do a test earlier just to get some laps in,” said the MW Motorsport regular.
“COVID happened so it didn’t happen, but now I’m free to travel again so I’m able to complete the test with GRM.
“The goal is to increase my mileage as Super2 testing is restricted, so to get some laps in an S5000 will be beneficial ahead of the return to racing.
“I’m really looking forward to the power, I’ve heard how much it has, and the aero. I’ve never driven with wings, so I’m looking forward to that and see how it all goes.
“My main goal is Supercars, but I’d love to do a few rounds of S5000 next year in between Super2 events, I’d definitely look into that.”
GRM’s Victorian-based drivers will put its three Peugeots, two Renaults, and two Alfa Romeos through their paces also.
“It’s been a pretty long mid-season break, so the aim for us is to give the cars a shakedown and also to get the crew back into gear before a busy end to the year when we fire back up again,” added Millard.
“We’ve got the Victorian guys heading up there, so we won’t have Michael Caruso or Jordan Cox due to being Sydney-based.”
Aaron Cameron is GRM’s best placed driver in the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series in fifth spot, but is only 25 points away from second position ahead of the fifth and final round of the campaign at Mount Panorama.
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