As the proprietor of several Thrifty Car Rental outlets throughout Sydney South West, Allan Shephard would no doubt have heard some stories in his time about why there was a scratch on the hire car or why a speeding fine came in the mail. However, over Easter this year the Liverpool driver will have his own story to tell because Shephard will be pairing up with Steve Briffa in a Thrifty Car Rental-backed Mazda 3 for the WPS 12-Hour Showroom Enduro at the WPS Bathurst International Motor Festival.
The Mazda brand has enjoyed great success at Mount Panorama in past endurance events and Shephard believes the Mazda 3 MPS is a wolf in sheep’s clothing as a road car and is confident his crew can turn it into real fox on the race track. The Mazda 3 MPS boast turbo power and some very smart electronics which should ensure this car will be a great challenger for the factory teams from Subaru, Holden and the like.
Shephard has a great deal of experience in Production Car racing competing with distinction in three 24-Hour races, including a podium at the prestigious Nurburgring event in Germany. Briffa is new to endurance racing but has finished strongly in class over the past two years and is currently preparing to run a full scale assault on this year’s Australian Production Car Championship. He is confident of stepping up to the plate for the first time with the recently completed Mazda 3 MPS.
“The Thrifty Motorsport team has a long association with Australian Production Cars and also Endurance racing where clever tactics and reliability can shine through. We’re confident that we’ll be up the pointy end of the field during the 12-Hour race, †said Shephard. “We aim to be on the podium on Easter Sunday and anything less will be disappointing for the crew Jason, Phil, Neil and team Manager Len Cave, along with Steve Briffa, who are working tirelessly on the project.
“Many hands make light work when it comes to preparing a race car for such an epic and besides my perennial sponsor Thrifty Car Rental, I’d also like to thank his supporters such as The Shire Conveyancer, at Cronulla, Bankstown Helicopters, East Coast Suspension, Victoria House Needlecraft, EagleSMF for their superior workshop equipment and a long list of workshops such as Bond Roll Bars, Chip Torque and Croydon Autosport who have dropped everything to help this challenge. †The team is also preparing a second car, a Toyota Celica ZZR, out of its Liverpool workshop with drivers in this entry set to be confirmed in the near future.
Both cars will be finalised over the coming days with a focus of testing for the first time on March 11 at the Australian Production Car Championship test day. The 2007 WPS Bathurst International Motor Festival will be held at Mount Panorama on April 6-8, incorporating the WPS 12-Hour Showroom Enduro on Sunday April 8. With the number of entries for the WPS 12-Hour Showroom Showdown currently being finalised it is expected almost 40 cars will take to the grid for the race on April 8.
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