Team Lamborghini expands to three car team

Lamborghini Team to run three cars in Nations Cup; Stokell, Newman & Tratt go trophy-hunting.

Crack Nations Cup outfit Team Lamborghini Australia will expand to a three-car line-up and contest Group One and Group Two of the Championship from the third round at Wakefield Park late this month.

In one of the most significant announcements of the season so far, TLA Manager Andrew Smith said today V8 Supercar driver Anthony Tratt would join existing team members Paul Stokell and Sam Newman for the balance of the eight-round championship and for November's Bathurst 24-Hour race.

The Lamborghinis will go head-to-head with Ferrari, Viper, Monaro, Porsche, Maserati, BMW and Corvette as the series for GT sports cars continues with its most successful season to date.

"This will be a partnership for the rest of the year between TLA and Paul Little's Toll Racing and we're going to have a real serious go at winning both championships," Andrew Smith said.

"Paul will continue in his Diablo GTR in Group One and we have re-acquired our 5.7 litre Diablo SVR for Sam to go after Group Two.

"The SVR is the one Paul used for our first two seasons in Nations Cup and is probably the single most successful car in the series in terms of wins.

"Now that it's eligible for Group Two and in view of the fact Sam is driving so well since joining us this season, we want to give him the chance to fight for the championship against the Porsches, Ferraris, Maseratis and Corvette."

Tratt will take over Newman's Group One Diablo GTR, resuming a partnership with Stokell that earned outright victory in the Sandown 500 last year.

Tratt's presence, backed by transport group Toll Ipec, will continue to support Stokell's aspirations to win a Nations Cup title to join the three CAMS Gold Stars on his trophy shelf.

Stokell is second in the Meguiar's Drivers Championship pointscore after a race win apiece at the Adelaide and Symmons Plains rounds, while Ferrari arch-rival John Bowe has scored three wins.

PROCAR Australia Deputy Executive Chairman John Cowley said Team Lamborghini Australia's announcement represented a major development for the championship and for fans.

"I applaud Andrew Smith and his father James, Paul Little and Toll Racing. It's not a small commitment to come up with three Lamborghinis," Cowley said.

"I'm especially pleased they have plans for the Bathurst 24-Hour. The fans made it plain they were disappointed Lamborghini wasn't there for the inaugural race, so I know they'll be welcomed when November comes around again.

"This is certainly the best season yet in Nations Cup. We've welcomed Monaro and Peter Brock to the grid, plus Maserati, and they have contributed to some fabulous racing in the first two rounds.

"Now thanks to the expanded Lamborghini team, the fans at the track for the rest of the year and watching on Channel Seven will see races contested by cars with appeal and pedigree unprecedented in Australian racing."

The full Team Lamborghini Australia line-up, including drivers, plus a range of Lamborghini road cars, will be on show at the team's public Open Day next Saturday.

The free Open Day will be staged between 10 am and 4 pm at the team's workshop, at 90 Market Street, South Melbourne.

Round three of the Nations Cup, part of the PROCAR Champ Series, will be staged at Wakefield Park circuit near Goulburn from Friday 30 May to Sunday 1 June.

-www.procar.com.au-