AUS: Charlie O'Brien back with WPS Racing

Evergreen race driver Charlie O'Brien will slip back behind the wheel of one of his beloved Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars to compete in the final four rounds of the 2004 Australian Carrera Cup.

Businessman Craig Gore's Wright Patton Shakespeare Financial Group, the company behind the WPS Racing V8 Supercar Championship team, will sponsor O'Brien in the Carrera Cup.

O'Brien will have his new-look WPS Racing Porsche in time for the next round at Winton from July 23 to 25.

He will then compete in the final three rounds at the Betta Electrical Sandown 500 (September 10-12), Bob Jane T-Marts 1000 at Bathurst (October 7-10) and the Lexmark Indy 300 on the Gold Coast (October 21-24), and is considering a move back into New Zealand's Trans Tasman Cup series.

"I'm happy to have Charlie back in the car where he belongs," said Gore.

The deal to put him back behind the wheel is an extension of O'Brien's existing relationship with WPS Racing.

He was one of the first signings to the WPS Racing management when the team was formed earlier this year.

He filled various positions in WPS Racing's V8 Supercar team, headed by drivers David Besnard and Mark Noske, during the establishment and start-up phase.

"I'm an owner of a couple of GT3 cars so it's nice to be able to get some use out of them and get back racing," said O'Brien.

"I will be carrying the same livery as the WPS Racing V8 Supercars so it's nice to maintain the relationship with the team.

"It is always difficult to start halfway through a season but I'm confident that the mileage I did in the car over the Christmas break and earlier this year will stand me in good stead."

O'Brien last raced the his 911 GT3 Cup car during the Carrera Cup support races at the Foster's Australian Grand Prix in March.

However, it was during last year's Lexmark Indy 300 on the Gold Coast where he achieved his best race result in the category -- a second placing.

O'Brien also finished fourth in this year's Trans Tasman Cup series in New Zealand.

He has competed in a range of classes over the past 35 years and has an enviable record around street circuits such as Bathurst and the Gold Coast.

He has recorded 14 podium finishes in 18 support races at Indy, been a consistent top 10 finisher at Bathurst, won the Tasman Cup open wheel series in 1983, won the National Panasonic open wheel series in the early 1980s and still holds the record as the youngest ever winner of a Touring Car round.

The Carrera Cup is the most successful 'one make' championship in the world with close-to-identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars built by Porsche' racing arm in Weissach, Germany set for racing in 2004. All cars have a top speed in excess of 300 kilometres per hour with a 400-horsepower, 6 cylinder Boxer engine which revs to 8000 RPM.

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