A fifth V8 Supercar driver has just been announced on the entry-list for weekend’s Hertz MINI Challenge - delivered by Pizza Capers at Queensland Raceway making it an awesome line-up of Aussie talent which is a sure recipe for dynamic racing at the Ipswich 300 event.
Warren Luff joins the fold under the McElrea Racing banner along with another last minute entrant in Sarah Harley who becomes the first female driver to contest a 2010 event in the MINI Challenge series. Both drivers and the McElrea Racing outfit hail from the sunshine state in South East QLD and have copious amounts of experience around the paperclip track, however; for Harley, this will be her first experience driving the MINI R56 competitively for the first time.
Luff on-board is a huge coup for the series as he lines-up against current V8 drivers such as Dean Canto and Luke Youlden plus former V8 Champion Paul Stokell and current MINI Challenge leader Chris Alajajian who had a successful stint in the development series in 2007.
Combined with other stars such as Chris Wootton - former Formula BMW Pacific driver, John Magro – currently 4th in Australian Formula 3 series, Peter McNiven – 2005 HQ Nationals Champion and young-gun speedster Sean Carter – Round 3 is set to be the one of the tightest, exciting MINI Challenge races yet.
MINI Challenge driver Warren Luff said:“I’m really looking forward to driving the MINI this weekend. I had a run in Townsville last year with Denyer and have tested the car a couple of times so it’ll be good to get back into it on the home track. Dean [Canto], Luke [Youlden] and I will all be battling it out in the Enduros later this year so it will be good fun and a bit of a preview of what’s to come as we all duke it out this weekend in the MINIs. The more established guys like Paul Stokell and Chris Alajajian are obviously the benchmark so we have to be up with them. Along with this it will be a busy weekend driving the DJR car on Friday so I think it should be a really fun weekend all round.”
MINI Challenge driver Dean Canto said:“Last time Luffy and I raced side-by-side was at Bathurst last year and some panels were rubbed so I’m sure it will be fun out there when we duel again. It’ll be great to challenge Luke [Youlden] for a change as opposed to being his team-mate so I reckon we’ll be playing around a bit out there. It’s great to see this calibre of drivers and in such a great car in an event that is going to be very close with lots of action. I’m looking forward to getting back into the MINI on Saturday and reigniting the fire after a disappointing finish to the last round.”
Round 3 at Queensland Raceway will see a 4-race format next Saturday and Sunday with two practice sessions on Friday. The first competitive lap will take place 09.00am Saturday morning when MINI Challenge competitors take to the paperclip track for qualifying.
Hertz MINI Challenge – delivered by Pizza Capers is the most exciting, premium single-make series in the world. The seven round series runs as an official support category of the V8 Supercar Championship Series.
Ipswich 300 – Entry List1 Paul Stokell QLD 3 Chris Wootton QLD 5 Luke Youlden VIC 6 Dean Canto VIC 7 John Magro QLD 8 Kain Magro QLD 9 Chris Alajajian NSW 11 Gavin Yortt NZ 13 Peter McNiven VIC 15 Warren Luff QLD 19 Sarah Harley QLD 25 Brendan Cook QLD 28 Sean Carter VIC 50 Steven Brabury VIC 68 Stephen Butcher NSW 95 Matthew MacKelden QLD
