Aussie drivers to battle series regulars in Toyo Tires Stadium Super Trucks debut
Clipsal 500 Adelaide organisers have announced the full driver line-up for the Australian debut of the world’s newest and most exciting form of racing, the Toyo Tires Robby Gordon Stadium Super Trucks Series.
Stadium Super Trucks founder and two-time series champion Robby Gordon will be the star attraction in the pits at Victoria Park for next week’s Clipsal 500 in Adelaide.
Gordon’s signature orange truck will be met by nine other high profile drivers to race side by side in 10 snarling 600 horsepower trucks.
The international contingent will be met by five Australians drivers: Brad Gallard, Toby Price, Billy Geddes, Nathan Pretty and Matt Mingay. The Aussie team is ready to impress in their first outing behind the wheel of a Stadium Super Truck.
Team Toyo off-road legend and 2012 Finke Desert Race winner Gallard will lead the Aussie charge in his first race of 2015.
“I’m looking forward to getting out on the bitumen and launching from the ramps, mixing it up and having fun,” said Gallard.
“This is going to open a lot of people’s eyes up to the sport. It will have people on the edge of their seat. This is a series we have always wanted to showcase but to be able bring it to an event like the Clipsal 500 is beyond exciting.
“There is no doubt that people are going to love it.”
Coming off a high from a third place outright at Dakar, off-road motorcycle racer Price (the second Australian ever to take a podium at the gruelling rally) will make a big switch to four wheels and a sealed circuit. Price will share the drive with Finke Ironman and off-road virtuoso Geddes.
The desert racers are joined by former V8 Supercars driver and 24-hour Bathurst winner Pretty and prolific Australian stunt rider and driver Mingay.
In addition to Gordon, four international veterans of Stadium Super Truck racing will join the locals on the grid: Sheldon Creed, Charles Dorrance, EJ Viso and Keegan Kincaid.
17-year-old Creed, 2014 Stadium Super Trucks second place-getter wunderkind, is poised to beat Robby Gordon at his own game.
Creed is joined by Trophy Truck master Dorrance, and Venezuelan Viso, who claimed three wins from 10 starts in the 2014 season. Kincaid also claimed a series race win in 2014.
The Stadium Super Trucks will drive the full V8 Supercars track, with specially designed jumps added to the iconic Adelaide street circuit.
The field will take to the course for two 20 minute sessions on Thursday followed by an eight lap race on each of the following days.
“Stadium Super Trucks has become hugely popular at motor racing events in the United States and we’re very excited to be hosting the first ever Stadium Super Trucks event outside of North America,” said Clipsal 500 CEO Mark Warren.
Toyo Tires has acquired the naming rights sponsorship of the Australian debut of Robby Gordon’s Stadium Super Trucks presented by TRAXXAS at the Clipsal 500 Adelaide. Supporting sponsors of the series include Clipsal by Schneider, Traxxas, Hogg’s Breath Café, Jet Pilot and GoPro.
Toyo Tires Open Country A/T II (OP A/T II) is the control tyre for the Stadium Super Trucks series. With an off the-shelf tread pattern, the OP A/TII’s endurance, toughness and relentless grip make it the ideal choice for the mixed terrain and brutal demands of Stadium Super Trucks racing.