V8SDS: Mark McNally debut preview

MCNALLY READY FOR V8 DEBUT

Mark McNally will follow in the footsteps of fellow West Australian Garth Tander this weekend as he makes his V8 Supercar debuts at Queensland Raceway in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series.

A desire to make it to the top of motorsport in Australia has led Mark to sign with the respected Melbourne based team Tony D'Alberto Racing (TDR) for the remaining 5 rounds of the 2006 series.

"It has been a long time coming," Mark said.

"This is a big step from Formula Ford.

"I am taking things one step at a time and will be happy to get the first meeting out of the way without major incident.

Mark will drive the team's VY Commodore, made famous when Greg Murphy and Rick Kelly won the 2004 Bathurst 1000.

"I am feeling pretty comfortable in the car now that I have some testing at Winton under my belt, but nothing will compare to the experience of racing -- I can't wait!

There is a record 41 cars entered for Round 3 this weekend so Mark really has his work cut out.

"TDR have supplied an excellent car and the team really know what they are doing," he said.

"I have confidence that I can put in a solid drive this weekend, and more importantly, gain valuable experience under race conditions.

"It has been great working with Tony (D'Alberto) over the past few months as I have been acquainting myself with the V8 Supercar.

"The learning curve is going to be pretty steep this year, and we should be positioned well for the 2007 series," he said.

-www.markmcnally.com.au