Bathurst 1000 podium finisher David Russell and 2021 6 Hour winner Shane Smollen will join Tom McLennan in their Class X Extreme Performance M4 in their quest for outright victory.
Hasting Deering is a leader in the sales and service of Caterpillar machinery and earthmoving equipment, and the company will supply four staff members to be part of the team across the Easter weekend.
McLennan Motorsport will have additional support in the annual mountain production car classic from VideoPro, Creative Conversions, Dayco and Prestige Connex.
“This program has been in the works since the start of 2023, so it’s really exciting to reveal our BMW,” said McLennan.
“We did the 6 Hour in A1 Class last year and we enjoyed the weekend so much that we decided to come back with our own team and own car and control our own destiny.”
The BMW is the same car that Shane van Gisbergen, Smollen and Rob Rubis won the race with in 2021 and will be up against several other BMWs in the bid for both class and outright honours.
The marque has an unbeaten record in the 6 Hour. Since 2018, M3s, M4s and M2s have dominated, not only in results, but on the entry list and the M4 has had three race wins.
Russell started racing in production cars. He has since had a successful professional career with multiple victories in national competition and has been on the Bathurst 1000 podium in 2021 and 2023.
“To come back again in X class, to be in outright contention, driving a car that has previously won the race . . . the ingredients for our team are very good,” Russell enthused.
Smollen is the Am driver in the team. He started in Saloon Cars and then raced in Porsche Carrera Cup before production cars. He came through a dominate 2023 season in Monochrome GT4 Australia with his Porsche Cayman.
“For us, it’s all about being calm and executing on the day. There’s no use focusing on lead driver speed, you need to execute the strategy across the whole weekend,” said Smollen.
After he competed in Formula Ford and Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge in recent years, 19 year old McLennan is set to take on the competitive Carrera Cup Championship this year. He also raced in the recent Bathurst 12 Hour and finished second in the GT4 class with Method Motorsport.
The team will be led by Aaron Reed who has had success previously in the 6 Hour. He built and ran the winning BMW for Beric Lynton and Tim Leahey in 2019 before the 2021 win.
The Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour will be held Easter Sunday from 11:45am, preceded with practice on Good Friday, and practice and qualifying on Easter Saturday.
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