Wilson Brothers Racing Latest News
23.01.2008
Wilson Brothers Racing to Bathurst
Wilson Brothers Racing goes for Tasman trio at the 12 Hour!
After months of negotiating, WBR - Wilson Brothers Racing, confirmed today it's driver line up in the teams #25 Subaru WRX STi for the upcoming Bathurst 12hr event. The drivers of car #25 will be Kurt Kratzman, Brent Collins & Inky Tulloch.
The team is looking forward to heading back to Mt Panorama for this years Bathurst Motor Festival. "We had a strong run at the event last year, and were constantly in the top 6 throughout the race untill a rare let go in the engine department saw us record an unfortunate late race DNF. We are very happy with the driver line up for car #25 for this years event, with all three drivers and the team focussed on the main aim of finishing the race in a strong position" said Benn Wilson.
Kurt Kratzman who is a fellow Queenslander to the WBR boys, also did his "apprenticeship years" in the closely fought QLD Gemini Series that the WBR team has become clearly the benchmark in. Kurt then went onto HQ's & Saloon Cars and has always been at the pointy end of the field in whatever class he competes. He has good experience at Bathurst, having raced there in the 1993 Bathurst 12hr event.
Brent Collins, from NZ joins the team for this years 12hr as his Bathurst debut. Brent is a constant front runner & multiple champion in various classes including the NZ RX7 series and NZ Hill Climb championship. He then went on to become the inaugural Toyota Racing Series champion and has since raced in the NZ V8 series and is again sitting comfortably in the top 3 of the NZ Mini Challenge for the second year running.
Inky Tulloch completes the teams line up in the #25 Subaru. Inky from Timaru on the South Island of New Zealand, has vast experience in the racing community. Currently racing in the NZ V8 Touring Car Championship, Inky is best known as the front runner both in Australia & NZ Truck Racing Championships. He returns to Mt Panorama after many years absence, where he raced in several Bathurst 1000's in the 1980's.
All three drivers are new to the team and have never driven an STi Subaru on racing circuits. "The STi really is a fantastic car for this event and I can not foresee any of our teams drivers having difficulty in adapting to the car. This race is really all about rhythm, consistant lap times & efficient pit stops. We are more than confident that we have a strong driver line up in car #25 for this event, and everyone shares the same goals. It's a team effort and I firmly believe we have a very good band of blokes to do the job accordingly" said Cam Wilson.
The team is quite proud of it's "Tasman" connections. "At the WBR teams base, Platinum Auto Care on the Gold Coast, we have always had the "Tasman" connection with many staff originally from NZ. We currently employ 15 staff there of which 5 are Kiwi's" added Wilson.
The team is still in late negotiations with other drivers for the teams second entry. "At this stage I have only 1 driver (Daniel Schulz) 100% confirmed for the #26 STi and we are still trying to confirm possible co-drivers to partner him" claimed Wilson.
Daniel has a strong racing background and whilst a newcomer to the STi, has driven in plenty of "Targa" type events in a Mitsubishi EVO. More recently Daniel has joined the F3 Australian Championships in the privateers class, and for 2008 is stepping up to the outright class. Daniel has been a front runner in whatever class he competes and expects his 12hr attack to be no different.
After months of negotiations with various drivers, we just haven't been able to get a solid group of drivers across the line for our second entry as yet. There are numerous drivers we have been dealing with from around the globe in regard to the drives, but after many promises the money just hasn't shown up in our bank. Very frustrating really considering all the effort the team has made over the last two and a half months to prepare the cars for a full on assault at the best endurance race in the country. We are still all systems go to run this car at the event, but if we do not lock in the other two drivers required very shortly, we will unfortunatly have to withdraw the entry.
Either way, the team are focussed on this years 12hr event and are planning on fielding all three of the teams Subaru WRX STi's in the entire Production Car Championships. "The Bathurst 12hr is the best event Benn & myself have ever been apart of. If we could only choose 1 event per year to compete at, it would be this meeting hands down!" finished Wilson.
For further information, contact Cam Wilson on 0419 768 662 or email info@wilsonbrothersracing.com