Demand for Gold Coast 600 seats intensifies
The 2010 Armor All Gold Coast 600 was a huge success
Demand for Armor All Gold Coast 600 seats is at an all-time high as teams begin to finalise their line-ups for the October event.
This year’s international-flavoured Surfers Paradise street event will see all 28 regular drivers partnered by an international driver.
Last year, only 18 internationals competed, while the other seats were filled by local co-drivers.
Jim Beam Racing is one team that has experienced a high volume of demand for its two seats alongside Steve Johnson and James Moffat.
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Speedcafe.com understands that eight-times Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen and reigning Daytona 24 Hour winner Joey Hand are the front-runners to drive with the championship-winning team at the Armor All Gold Coast 600.
While Kristensen and Hand are being linked to the team, Dick Johnson Racing’s general manager Glenn Turnor says that interest in the seats has been high.
Jim Beam Racing's James Moffat at the Australian Grand Prix last weekend
“I’m still getting phone calls from drivers saying that they’re available, putting their hand up for a drive,” Turnor told Speedcafe.com.
“I had another call this morning, just out of the blue.
“We’re discussing a number of options with a number of drivers. At this point in time, we’re not in a position to indicate who those drivers are but we expect to finalise their arrangements and contracts sooner rather than later.”
Turnor says that demand is currently outweighing availability – a positive sign for V8 Supercars’ unique international race format.
“From our experience, there are more interested drivers than there are seats available. That’s a good thing not only for V8 Supercars, but for the GC600,” he said.
“V8 Supercars took on a big challenge last year when they took on promoting the event, and it’s through the success of that event that we’re in this position.”
At this point, no V8 team has announced its international drivers, although many are well down the path of sorting their stars.
Other drivers heavily linked to seats include Will Power and Mika Salo (Ford Performance Racing), Patrick Long and Ryan Briscoe (Toll Holden Racing Team) and Sebastian Bourdais and Andy Priaulx (TeamVodafone).