Multiple South African champ to test V8 SuperTourer
Tuesday 7 February 2012, 8:46AM
By V8 SuperTourers Ltd
201 views
Gary Formato, multiple South African Champion and current Production Car Champion is 'in the frame' to replace Cameron McConville at Team SuperCheap racing, alongside young Kiwi sensation Scott McLaughlin.
Formato will test Melbourne Performance Centre's SuperCheap Holden Commodore this Friday the 10th of February at Hampton Downs Raceway with a view to competing in the inaugural 2012 V8 SuperTourers championship said Paul Ceprnich, South African ex-pat and MPC team co-owner.
"We are very excited to have the possibility of having fellow former South African countryman Gary Formato do the whole V8ST Championship as Cam McConville's replacement if the dates can be managed," said Ceprnich.
"Gary tested for us at PMM a few years ago and impressed me greatly. However the dates didn’t work out and so we lost the opportunity to have the first South African to run a V8 Supercar at Bathurst. Let's hope that this time around the date clashes can be ironed out this time as there is real interest in V8 SuperTourers back in South Africa," he added.
Formato said; "I am really looking forward to getting behind the wheel of one of these monsters with their massive 7 litre engines and near perfect 50/50 weight balance. It promises to be even more of a beast than the Aussie V8 Supercar I drove five years ago and loved. These things should be very similar, although I am told the Kiwi car has a lot more front end and better power down so I can’t wait to dial myself in this Friday at Hampton Downs. It's a very long flight to New Zealand but I am really looking forward to the test, and I would like to thank Paula and Troy at MPC for giving me this opportunity.
Formato has won the equivalent of the New Zealand Gold Star National Championship a record breaking five times. He is also a twice winner of the Kyalami 9 hours, winning in 1998 with renowned Le Mans racer Jerome Policand for Dyson Racing and again in 2000 with Ralf Kelleners and Kremer Racing, both times in Le Mans prototypes.