Tim Macrow is a late addition to the entry list for the inaugural round of the FRD LMP3 Series at China’s new Zhejiang International Circuit.
Macrow will drive for S&D Motorsport in Round 1 of the new sportscar series, which will take in a four-round calendar in China.
The three-time Australian Formula 3 champion’s last competitive start came in the Australian GT season opener at the Adelaide 500, but he has also been driving GT vehicles while operating Melbourne motorsport/performance car workshop Prolap Motorsport.
“It’s a very cool opportunity and one I’m obviously really looking forward to,” said Macrow.
“I’ve never driven an LMP car so it wasn’t a hard decision to make the commitment to go when the opportunity came up. They are serious machines with lots of performance so it’s going to be a great opportunity.
“It’s the kind of opportunity that you just never know where it might lead so I’m jumping in and grabbing it with both hands. I can’t wait.
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“I’ve been getting plenty of seat time in GT cars lately so I feel like I’ll be able to adapt pretty quickly and get up to speed.”
While Macrow has not enjoyed any racing in fully-fledged prototypes, and only limited running in the Radical Australia Cup, the 33-year-old is not daunted by the challenge.
“There will be other people there who have seat time in the cars, but no one has seen the circuit before so that will level the playing field,” said Macrow.
“I’ve always been able to adapt pretty quickly and a lot of my career has been made up of jumping into cars at the last minute with no testing and limited preparation and just having a crack, so why should this be any different?”
Macrow will join fellow Australians Josh Burdon, Greg Taylor, and Garnet Patterson, and New Zealanders Simon Evans and Andrew Waite, on the grid, and former F3 mechanic Terry Stott at S&D Motorsport.
Taylor will drive with former IndyCar ace Alex Tagliani at Craft Bamboo Racing, which will also field Australian-based Brit James Winslow alongside Swiss Mathias Beche.
The FRD LMP3 Series is run by the Formula Racing Development (FRD) Group, which also operates the Asian Formula Renault Series and Ford’s factory-backed Chinese Touring Car Championship program.
The winner of the series will be awarded a seat in the Asian Le Mans Series in the LMP2 class, the highest level of the series.
After the originally planned season opener at Shanghai was cancelled due to delays in car delivery, the series will commence with a shortened, four-round calendar at Zhejiang on June 30-July 2.
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