Sieders Racing Team secures V8 Supercar wildcard entry

KEY NOTES – Sieders Racing Team awarded ‘wildcard’ entry into the V8 Supercar Championship Series endurance races (Phillip Island 500 & Bathurst 1000)

– Sieders Racing Team will be the only Sydney-based team competing in the endurance races

– Colin and David Sieders will both make V8 Championship Series debuts

– Colin and David will make their Bathurst 1000 debuts

– Team will compete with Triple Eight’s chassis #10 – the car that Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup won the 2006 Bathurst 1000

– The Sieders family team will make its first start at Bathurst since 2000

– Last time the Sieders team competed at Bathurst, it was with Bill (father) and Luke (oldest brother). This time, it will be the younger brothers.

– Colin will become the first person with a disability to race in the V8 Supercar Championship Series

THE Sieders Racing Team’s ‘Wildcard’ entry into the V8 Supercar Championship Series’ endurance races will see many firsts.

Colin Sieders (27) and David Sieders (25) have leased the 2006 Bathurst-winning Falcon BF from Triple Eight Race Engineering and will race at both the L&H 500 (Phillip Island) and the Supercheap Auto 1000 (Bathurst). It will be the first time that the pair will compete in the Championship Series after spending the past three seasons in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series.

But it won’t be the team’s first run in the traditional endurance races. Sieders Racing Team entered two cars in the 2000 Bathurst 1000, finishing 23rd (Rob Russell/Steve Coulter) and 26th (Bill and Luke Sieders) – the biggest V8 Supercar grid at Bathurst where 55 cars started the race. In 2009, the next generation of Sieders will get their chance on The Mountain.

The Sieders entry also means that they will be the only V8 Supercar team based in Sydney.

And Colin Sieders will become the first racer to compete in the Championship Series with a disability and the use of a hand clutch.

The four wildcard entries were granted to the Sieders, Sonic Motor Racing, Matthew White Motorsport and Greg Murphy Racing.

The L&H 500 will be held on September 11-13, and the Supercheap Auto 1000 on October 8-11.

COLIN SIEDERSAge: 27Lives: Yarramundi, NSW

– Survived horrific road car incident in 1997– Only has 30 percent use of left leg– Uses a  hand-clutch in his V8 Supercar, the first and only person to do so– Colin debuted in the Fujitsu V8 Series in 2006, racing through to 2008.– Best V8 result: 11th Wakefield Park

COLIN SIEDERS QUOTE BOOK

“I’m so excited about it. It’s a dream come true.”“The actual races obviously require more endurance. You‘ve got to spend an hour in the car during the race, much longer than we’d be in the car for a Fujitsu race, so we’re preparing ourselves for that. The positive is that the Triple Eight Falcon that we’ll be in will be much easier to drive compared to our regular cars.“We want to be the leading wildcard finisher. Our number one goal is to finish the race, and we’d like to be the best of the wildcard entrants. If we can knock off a few of the regular Main Series cars as well, that would be terrific, but finishing the race, especially our first ever endurance races, remains our number one priority.“The last time our family did Bathurst was with Dad and Luke. I don’t know many other families have had father and all of their sons compete at Bathurst. It will be a special moment for us. Our family has always been about motor racing. I can’t remember a time when we weren’t focusing on racing cars.”

DAVID SIEDERS Age: 25Lives: Yarramundi, NSW

– Made his circuit racing debut in a Truck at Oran Park in 2000– Competed in Australian Formula Ford Championship in 2005, finishing third– David debuted in the Fujitsu V8 Series in 2007 and is a series regular.– Best V8 result: 5th, Queensland Raceway 2007.

DAVID SIEDERS QUOTEBOOK

“It’s very exciting for me and the family.”“It should be a great family combination. The family did it back in 2000 with Dad and our eldest brother Luke. Doing it again now as the Sieders Racing Team and a family combination is very exciting.“I don’t think there’s anything that daunts me about racing with the big teams. In the Fujitsu V8s, you loose a lot of those fears. There can be pretty big packs of cars in the development series, especially at Bathurst. We know these cars very well and we know what to expect.“The main thing is that we just have to pace ourselves. The two races are going to be very long and pretty fast races.“The thing that I’m excited about is that it will be my first time around Phillip Island in the V8. Colin’s been there before, and I’ve driven around it in support classes, but never in the Supercar. “It’s a really fast circuit. There’s no real worry. We just need to keep our wits about us, have a good time and enjoy the experience.”