THE NATIONAL Sports Sedan Series heads into the new season, which starts at Tailem Bend on April 11-13 with a new title sponsor and a strong grid of cars for the opening round.
The series will be known as the Skye Sands National Sports Sedan Series, with Tickford Racing co-owner and businessman, Rusty French putting his weight behind the title, which hasn’t had a naming rights partner since Kerrick discontinued its support a couple of years ago.
French supported the Combined Sedans Bathurst 12 Hour support race and wanted to continue that support with the National Sports Sedan class was a perfect fit.
“It started with the Combined Sedans Bathurst 12 Hour, they approached me about sponsoring that and I think from my perspective, and from Skye Sands perspective, we like to try and help categories in the sport where we can whether it be events or young drivers,” French said.
“We had already put out toe in with Sports Sedans, we might as well stay with them, so we have decided to support them through the season.”
The deal is just for this year, but French confirmed that if everyone was happy then it may become a rolling deal.
Two of the category’s leading competitors, John Gourlay and Michael Robinson welcomed the announcement as the class continues to transition after moving away from the Shannons Nationals programme.
“It’s exciting and it’s good for us in lots and lots of ways to have some support,” Gourlay said. “It adds a level of credibility to our category as we had a bit of a lowkey year last year where we had to do a bit of regrouping because our numbers had dropped away a bit, and I think that was a bit of a wake-up call for everybody.”
The aim for the class is to not only grow the field, but also increase the quality, Robinson and Gourlay have devised a plan to expand on both
“Part of what we set up from the start of the year, John [Gourlay] and I wanted to do was to make it a low entry fee, so it encourages as many competitors as possible,” Robinson said. “If you join up with the Shannons Nationals the entry fees grow, but with Skye Sands support that makes the whole package work together.”
The Skye Sands National Sports Sedan Series has 29 confirmed entries for Tailem Bend and will also be a part of the Muscle Car Masters again ahead of further high-profile events planned for 2019.
2018 Skye Sands National Sports Sedan Series
Round 1 Tailem Bend April 13-15 (Shannons Nationals)
Round 2 Wakefield Park May 25-27 (NSW State)
Round 3 Sydney Motorsport Park June 8-10 (Muscle Car Masters)
Round 4 Queensland Raceway July 27-29 (Shannons Nationals)
Round 5 Phillip Island November 25-27 (Island Magic)