Having developed a local volunteer racing team into a respected and successful professional outfit, Pedders Racing went from humble beginnings to back to back class championship victories in their Proton Satria GTi before taking on a world-first national production car racing project, and going on to see further success with numerous world-firsts for the Toyota 86 on the national circuit racing scene.With less than two months until the start of the 2014 racing season, the team has faced its greatest challenge, celebrating a third consecutive class championship honour, while decision making and commiserating as budget constraints pushed the team to the difficult and disappointing decision to retire from the Australian national motor sport arena.
It has been a story of glory, grief, heartbreak, honour, learning, luck, determination and dedication that has brought Bendigo’s team from its roots as J&A No Bull Racing to its success as Pedders Racing; the first team in global racing to take a production specification Toyota 86 to a national circuit racing class championship.
During season 2013 alone, the team also locked away the world’s first national production racing class pole positions and class race win, all on the back of designing, building, homologating and debuting the world’s first production racing 86 model on a national motor sport scene. A championship in the debut year – a story worth telling.
In an environment where sponsorship value is paramount, Pedders Racing proudly went above and beyond to ensure both brand dollar and experience value for their strong contingent of investors and sponsors, while keeping the pride alive within the motoring community, working with clubs including the 86 Club Australia to share their circuit homes with fellow owners of the hyped sports car and promote the country’s consistently top selling manufacturer in the unique and loyal motor sport world.
With sponsorship commitments ongoing, the toll of a title-winning season had left the #86 with panel damage and a list of mechanical repairs ahead of any attempt for another back to back story during the 2014 season.
Having run their debut title-winning season on the red line and without spares, effort was rewarded with the loyal sponsors committing to provide an operational budget, making decisions all the more difficult, but the necessary sponsorship growth did not extend to provide the season’s spares catalogue or the panels and parts needed to return the 86 to its glory days. As such, the story ends with Pedders Racing’s regretful retirement while on a world-first championship winning high.
A racing dream and three consecutive national production car racing championship titles simply would not have been possible with these people, and as such the team’s owners/drivers Grant Phillips and Andrew Turpie wish to thank: Michael ‘Stig’ Stiglich, Damian Martin, Stephen George, Kat O’Shaughnessy, Mike Ibbott, Chris Quinn, Andrew Bartlett, Justin Mix, Mick White, Aaron McIver, Phillip McIver, Vanessa and Stephanie Phillips, Michelle and the Turpie family, Chris O’Connor, Dave and Rita of Pedders Hornsby, Daniel Bond, Gus Robbins, Daryl Martin, the No Bull Chicks, Claire Montague, Megan Wheatley and Alicia Blake, and our talented lineup of guest drivers, Shane Jacobson, Neal Bates and Chris O’Shannessy.
Pedders Racing have been proudly supported by their dedicated volunteer crew, Pedders Suspension, Bosch Automotive, Pitman Trucks/Euro Truck Spares, AMG Australia/Oz Racing Wheels, Whiteline, Grafico - Auto Disegno, MRT Performance, ECUTek, Evans Waterless Coolants, Dixcel, PBR, Project Mu, Heidi Yi Mineral Cosmetics, Valvoline, Exedy, Reliable Rack & Pinion, Nameless, Merlin Software/Cobalt Retail, Freak Motorsport Fabrications, GMP Racing Products, ARB Bendigo, Bartercard Central Victoria, Fluidive Bendigo, M&C Tyres Bendigo, Moro & Dooly Accident Repair Centre Bendigo, Motion Performance Exhaust Centre Bendigo, Dark Dream Photography, Kangaroo Flat Barber Shop, CC-MW, Pedders Bendigo, J&A Light Freight and CIMA Media.
