After a promising debut last year, Jon McCorkindale is gearing up to contest all five rounds of the 2017 V8 Kumho Series, in what will be his first full year with the series.
Having contested one series round last year at Sydney Motorsport Park, following a test session at the circuit, McCorkindale is looking forward to strapping into his Dial Before You Dig supported FG Ford Falcon for his full-time 2017 campaign. However, it’s certainly not going to be an easy task, with the 26-year-old racer running a privateer team, with no backing from a major team.
“Running the full V8 Kumho Series is going to be a huge step up for us, particularly on a privateer budget, but we’re very much looking forward to the challenge ahead,” commented McCorkindale, who is most looking forward to round three of the series, which will take place at Queensland Raceway, having had a positive track record at the venue previously.
“It’s our first full year with the series, so we’re not setting any unrealistic expectations, we’re just aiming to learn as much as we can and be as competitive as possible, while hopefully pushing for a top-five result.”
Having had extensive experience with competitive racing, beginning his racing career at the age of 12 in speedway Junior Sedans, McCorkindale has raced in a number of different categories across speedway and circuit racing, including Wingless Sprints, 410 Sprintcars and most recently the Australian GT Championship, and will be looking to draw on his previous racing experience to help him maintain his composure and consistency throughout the series.
Joining the team and acting as McCorkindale’s race engineer and mentor will be Supercar veteran Dean Canto, who has over 20 years of racing experience and is currently a co-driver with Mark Winterbottom for the endurance races.
Another pleasing development for the team is the return of McCorkindale’s long-time major sponsor Dial Before You Dig (Queensland and NSW branches), who have signed on to support McCorkindale for the 10th year running.
“Dean has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to Supercars and we couldn’t be happier to have him on board as race engineer this year,” added McCorkindale, who has previously had racing experience on each of the tracks the series will visit this year.
“We also have to give a huge thank you to our major sponsor of 10 years, Dial Before You Dig, for continuing their support of our team. None of this would be possible without them and we are extremely grateful for their amazing support.”
The first three rounds of the five-round V8 Kumho Series will be run in conjunction with the Supercar Championship, while the final round of the series at Sydney Motorsport Park will take place with the Muscle Car Masters.
To find out more about McCorkindale and his team, LIKE them on Facebook by searching Jon McCorkindale.
2017 V8 Kumho Series Calendar:
April 21-23
Round 1 – Phillip Island Circuit (Vic)
May 19-21
Round 2 – Winton Motor Raceway (Vic)
July 28-30
Round 3 – Queensland Raceway (Qld)
September 8-10
Round 4 – Phillip Island Circuit (Vic)
October 27-29
Round 5 – Sydney Motorsport Park (NSW)
