03 Aug PAPPAS PUMPED FOR MONOCHROME GT4 AUSTRALIA DEBUT
TransAm racer Chris Pappas will be one a number of new faces in the Monochrome GT4 Australia ranks when the category hits Queensland Raceway next weekend (August 11-13) alongside the Mobil 1 Australian Production Cars for its third round of the season.
Pappas will be sharing the driving duties of his #8 Cali Beach McLaren 570S – which arrived to the Gold Coast only yesterday – with fellow newcomer to the category, Super3 racer Cameron McLeod.
Pappas and McLeod will not be the only first time Monochrome GT4 Australia competitors on-track at QR either, with Todd O’Brien and Antonio Basile also joining the fun in their #33 Elev8 Motorsports Ginetta G55, while Ryder Quinn will join his grandfather and series regular, Tony Quinn, aboard the #101 Queensland Raceway Porsche Cayman 718.
Pappas comes to Monochrome GT4 Australia following a five year racing career, which has included TransAM, TA2, and Excels. He also made his Mobil 1 Australian Production Cars debut at the Sydney Motorsport Park event in June, where the category ran alongside Monochrome GT4 Australia.
“The combined APC and GT4 Australia racing first caught my attention at Phillip Island earlier this year, and since then I have been umming and ahhing about how to get involved, with a number of possible vehicles in the mix depending on how I wanted to go ahead,” Pappas said.
“I had never driven a production car before, so I thought racing at the Sydney event would be a good way to try it out and see.
“I drove with Michael Rowell in his #3 Rowell Logistics Ford Mustang, and I really enjoyed that, and now here we are!” he smiled.
Pappas said there are a number of reasons as to why the Monochrome GT4 Australia category has appealed to him.
“I really like the wide range of different manufacturers. You can run a McLaren, a BMW, a Mercedes, an Audi and so on and so forth, and that really appeals to me,” said the 35 year old Gold Coast business owner.
“At the same time, you have the balance of power, so they should be all even in spec. I have had a few road-going McLarens, so I decided to go in that direction.
“And importantly, there are good people involved. When you go racing, you want to go out and try and win a race of course, but you also want to be doing it with people you enjoy racing with, in the garage and on the track.”
With a brand-new car, a new-to-him race format, and an action-packed schedule, Pappas said he was excited to get into things next weekend.
“I will be racing in TransAM at Queensland Raceway as well as Monochrome GT4 Australia, so it is going to be busy,” he said.
“We have only just got the car, and being mid-engine, it will be quite a bit different to the front-engine I am used to driving, so it will be about getting a feel of the car.
“I have also never gone enduro racing, so with two one-hour races and a two-hour race, that is going to be really exciting.
“Basically, I am going to be doing a lot of things next weekend that I have not done before, and I am so excited to get into it.
“Co-driving with Cameron McLeod is also something I am really happy about. He is a really fast and up and coming driver, so I am keen to get in the car and go racing with him,” concluded Pappas, while thanking his sponsors for their support.”
Round three of the Monochrome GT4 Australia and Mobil 1 Australian Production Cars will be held at Queensland Raceway across the 11th to the 13th of August.
While entries for this event are now closed, entries are open now for rounds four through six at www.ausprodcars.com.au.
For further information about Monochrome GT4 Australia and Mobil 1 Australian Production Cars, please contact admin@ausprodcars.com.au or visit www.ausprodcars.com.au