Garry Rogers Motorsport will conduct the first official S5000 track activity since March’s Australian Grand Prix with a young driver evaluation at Phillip Island next Friday.

Nathan Herne and Cooper Webster are set to cut laps at the Island under the guidance of GRM’s own S5000 competitor, James Golding.

Herne has run in Trans Ams for the past two seasons while fellow 17-year-old Webster has most recently been racing in Excels.

“Our vision for the category was to make S5000 as affordable as possible, and have a car that you can suit both the experienced and young driver,” said GRM Director, Barry Rogers.

“As has been the case with Garry and the team for many, many years, we are keen on bringing young latent through, and although challenging, S5000 is a level playing field and it allows the drivers to show their skills.

“It’s a big step for both Nathan and Cooper, but we’ll have James there to help them get a feel for the cars and get the most out of their evaluations.

“Garry and I have been watching Nathan since he was in Formula Ford. When he stepped up to the Trans Ams and did so well, we knew that we’d like to see what he felt about the S5000 class.

“Cooper is fresh out of karting and some other circuit racing, but again, he is a young kid and with the right guidance, can have a bright future in motorsport. He will probably surprise himself how quickly he’ll adapt to the S5000.”

The opening round of the revised VHT S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship season will take place with the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships at Sydney Motorsport Park on August 15-16.