Canberra’s fastest racing family, James and Theo Koundouris, have confirmed their return to the Australian Carrera Cup championship for season 2007 after a season away from the one-make Porsche category.
The brothers raced in the Australian GT Championship throughout the 2006 season, scoring multiple podium finishes between them and ending the year with James 3rd and Theo 4th in the final standings.
Both were amongst the most consistent drivers of the 2006 GT series and featured prominently in each round they contested.
Both decided, however, to return to Carrera Cup this season and have in the process secured some impressive machinery that they hope will take them to championship success.
James will drive the ex-Paul Freestone Porsche 997 GT3, whilst Theo will take hold of the car formerly driven to success by Porsche stalwart Alex Davison at Paul Cruickshank Racing.
Two of the teams long-running sponsors have also voiced their commitment to their ’07 campaign.
Industry workforce suppliers SKILLED will sponsor Theo’s entry, whilst James’ car will sport the distinctive signage of Dare Iced Coffee throughout the 2007 Carrera Cup year, that runs as a major support to the V8 Supercar Championship series.
With plans only coming into place over the last few weeks both James and Theo have had limited time behind the wheel of their new cars, however both believe that they will still be in a strong position come the first racing lap at the Clipsal 500, next week.
“I’m really looking forward to it, †James said today.
“Carrera Cup is a great category and it’s looking to be a strong year for the series thanks to the entry of a lot of new drivers.
“Both of us have had limited time in the cars – it has all come together quite late in the piece – So we’ll see where we end up at Clipsal and then progress our way forward from there.
“However, we had a lot of success in the Australian GT Championship last year, so hopefully that form can be carried over into the Carrera Cup season when we get on track at the Clipsal 500 next week. †He said.
Theo Koundouris, who finished just one position behind James in the GT Championship last season despite missing a round, said that it would be a steady-as-she-goes approach for the first round.
â€It’s going to be quite a big learning curve, †he said.
â€Having said that, I think that we won’t be throwing ourselves in the deep end like we did when we first joined Carrera Cup a few years ago. We’re better prepared and I think we’ll have a good season.
â€It is a very competitive field and a different form of racing compared to what we did last year, so It’s going to be hard work to learn the cars early on.
“We’ll just suck it and see how we go! †said Theo.
As a primary support to the V8 Supercar championship series, The Carrera Cup Championship will be broadcast nationally on the seven network, both in it’s own program and within the V8 Supercar round broadcasts.
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