Sonic Motor Racing Services has confirmed a three-driver line-up for the opening round of Porsche Carrera Cup Australia, with a new face locked into one of its Bob Jane T-Marts entries.
Former Porsche Sprint Challenge champion Simon Fallon will join Michael Almond in the Team Sonic-prepared Bob Jane T-Marts Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars, aiming to repeat the past success of the famous yellow and blue entries.
Fallon, 21, is a rising star in the motorsport world, but after winning the 2018 Porsche Sprint Challenge with Sonic, was forced onto the sidelines when a budget shortfall kept him out of the driverโs seat.
Also joining Fallon and Almond will be Aaron Love, who is back for his third year with the squad, aiming to replicate the success of his older brother Jordan who won the Carrera Cup title with Sonic in 2019 before embarking on a drive in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.
The three drivers have enjoyed a successful lead up to the opening round at Sandown this weekend, completing two test days at Winton and Phillip Island, ensuring they are ready to hit the ground in the best shape possible.
This year also marks the 17th straight season of partnership between Bob Jane T-Marts and Sonic Motor Racing Services.
The relationship has seen many young stars of the sport get their big opportunities in motorsport, helping to launch the careers of the likes of David Reynolds, Andre Heimgartner, Nick Foster, Garry Jacobson and more.
The opening round of the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia will be held at Sandown Raceway on March 20-21.
QUOTES
Simon Fallon
Sonic Carrera Cup driver
โItโs very exciting, especially to join such a formidable team with Bob Jane T-Marts support,โ said Fallon.
โBob Jane T-Marts has a massive history in Carrera Cup racing, and motorsport in general, so canโt wait to get in the car and be in one of those cars.
โIt almost adds that bit more pressure, but it will be doing everything I can to make it work and hopefully we can get some good results.
โMotorsport is expensive, but I used the time away to get my buildersโ license sorted and work on other aspects of my career,โ he said.
โOf course, I missed the racing, and I feel Iโm up for the challenge against the best Porsche drivers in Australia.โ
Michael Almond
Sonic Carrera Cup driver
โItโs exciting to be a part of the Bob Jane T-Marts team, and Iโm excited to have another crack at Carrera Cup before the new model Porsche comes in next year,โ said Almond.
โIโm more eager than ever to come back to the driverโs seat. I donโt think Iโve been out of the seat this long before, so Iโm really looking forward to having a proper assault at the championship.
โWeโve done a few test days this year, and Iโm feeling fit and fast, and I feel Iโm doing it more naturally than I ever have.โ
โHaving Simon in the team is a bonus. He is a proven race winner in Porsches. The only problem is that of the three team-mates Iโve had, they always seem to be younger than me!โ he joked.
โAs a whole, the Sonic team is a great place to be. We all get along well and itโs a very cohesive environment which is only going to push us forward which is really exciting.โ
Aaron Love
Sonic Carrera Cup driver
โWe had quite a successful couple of days testing and we made some ground, getting back and ready for the year,โ said Love.
โIt was a good way to get my head back into the right mentality to get ready for the season.
โWe had good pace in the rounds that we did complete last year, so we will take in some confidence from that, but the expectation needs to be considered. I need to keep in mind that Iโm still fresh at Carrera Cup and Iโm still learning.
โFor sure, I would like to be within the top six by the end of the year, but there are a few extra new faces in the field who have a lot of experience. Itโs a bit of an unknown at the moment, so Iโll take it as it comes, but we want to be close to the pace and build as the year goes on.โ
Michael Ritter
Sonic team owner
โHaving Simon come back into our team is a positive, and weโre looking forward to seeing how he progresses during the year,โ said Ritter.
โHe has been out of the seat for almost two years, so we are expecting him to ease into it, but weโve helped to give him this opportunity because we know what he can do and we know what his capabilities are.
โMichael Almond is now a very senior member of our driving team and again, we will be looking to him to lead our young drivers with his experience and speed.
โAaron Love was one of the stand-outs in the short amount of running we did in 2020. Like his older brother, he has a tremendous future in the sport, and our job will be to harness that speed and help him turn it into results.โ