David Russell and Anthony Pederson have been confirmed as Matthew White Motorsport’s drivers for this year’s Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series.
The MW Motorsport will field three Ford Falcon BFs, with the third entry being for the Team Kiwi Racing’s Matthew Hamilton – see last Friday’s Speedcafe.com.au story HERE.
Russell, who finished third in last year’s Fujitsu V8 Series with Howard Racing, will drive the #28 Falcon, backed by Jayco Caravans. The car he will steer is the team’s ex-Mark Winterbottom/FPR chassis.
New Zealander Pederson, a rookie in V8 Supercars, will drive the #26 Falcon, campaigned by Jonathon Webb to victory in last year’s series. His car will feature a sequential gearbox.
The TKR entry for Hamilton will be the MW Motorsport-built Falcon.
Team owner White told Speedcafe.com.au that he is pleased with the line-up he has secured for this season.
“I’m pretty happy with the way the line-up has panned out,” he said.
“I was fortunate to get one of our long-term sponsors on board in Jayco Caravans. It has stepped up and joined us for this season, as well as Lubrimaxx.
“Those couple of deals coming together, very late in the piece mind you, have helped it along. As of Wednesday last week, we had nothing place, but from Thursday it started moving slowly, and by Sunday it was all confirmed. And with Monday being a public holiday in Melbourne, it’s put a lot of pressure on organisation. Even though the cars are ready, we’ve still got to get them painted and sign-written.
“But I’m pretty excited for the year ahead. David will do a good job. He tested very well and I’m confident he’ll run at the front.
“I’m interested to see how Anthony will go. He tested with us last week and his times were very impressive. He’s a nice, enthusiastic kid, so that should rub off well on the team. I reckon he’ll be a dark horse.
“For Matthew and the TKR deal, that’s a big variable for me. He’s an unknown, but David John seems to rate him, so time will tell.
“We’ll put together three well-sorted cars and see where it all goes from there.”
The first round of the Fujitsu V8 Series kicks off this weekend at the Clipsal 500, with the class’s first practice session at 9.30 on Thursday morning. Two races will be held on Friday and Saturday.
