Dunlop Series and Formula Ford outfit Minda Motorsport will shut down at the end of the calendar year.
Run by experienced mechanic and manager Bruin Beasley, the Melbourne-based team has been in operation for more than a decade.
Its Formula Ford outfit has been responsible for the CAMS Rising Stars program in recent years, while it entered the Dunlop Series at the beginning of 2013.
Cameron Waters, who is expected to join Ford Performance Racing’s Dunlop Series effort next year, took Minda’s ex-Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden to 10th in the series standings.
Beasley cited a desire to spend more time with his family as a key reason for shutting the team, although admitted that CAMS’ plan to replace Formula Ford with Formula 4 was a major blow to his operation.
“The decision by CAMS to drop Formula Ford in favour of a category that doesn’t even exist yet was a contributing factor, for sure,” he said.
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“It has taken years to build the infrastructure we have in Formula Ford, and unlike most other teams, I own the cars and the equipment so that young guys looking to come through don’t have to have the expense of buying a car, they can just lease one of ours.
“We’ve been an integral part of the CAMS Rising Star program for a number of years and been behind driver development programs with the likes of Britek before that.
“Despite that, and being the reigning Formula Ford champions, we were never consulted on what the best way forward for driver development for young drivers in Australia would be, and we’re on the coal face.
“We weren’t the only ones that weren’t consulted, so you can only take decision making like that for so long before you have to seriously consider continuing to invest in the sport the way we have, because the risk is far too great.”
Minda’s record book includes winning last year’s Australian Formula Ford Championship with Jack Le Brocq, as well as taking out five state Formula Ford titles.
The team has also fielded Australian GT Championship cars in recent years, winning the 2012 GT Trophy and GT Challenge classes.
It prepared last year’s Shannons Supercar Showdown entry for Cameron Waters and Jesse Dixon in the Bathurst 1000, while also running the car preperation side of the reality television program under its new Ford Performance Racing guise this season.
Minda’s honour role of drivers also includes Tim Slade, James Moffat, Andrew Thompson, Matthew Brabham, Taz Douglas and Gary Jacobson.
Beasley says that Minda’s ex-GRM Holden and entry into the 2014 Dunlop Series are both for sale, while he will assess his own future plans in the sport over the Christmas break.
