Former Radical Australia Cup racer and production car competitor Chris Sutton will make the step up to the National Trans Am Series beginning at the next round scheduled for Sandown.
A former class winner in the Radical Australia Cup and runner up in the Australian Prototype Series, Sutton recently transitioned to production car racing where he races a Subaru Impreza WRX in local events.
However, Sutton will join what is expected to be a highly competitive field at Sandown after purchasing the Ford Mustang Peter Herd raced at the Bathurst 6 Hour support races earlier this season.
“What drew me to the category was the basic structure, there’s nothing super high tech about it and it’s a real seat of your pants style of driving,” Sutton explained.
“You can feel things through the chassis, I like feeling the rock and the roll of the car as well as the feel through the tyres.
“I’ve been watching the category for a while thinking they would be a bit of fun. They sound good, they’re pulling some decent lap times and I’m a bit of a V8 head as well, so Trans Am ticks a lot of boxes for me.”
The Mustang will feature support from 321 Motofit, Sutton’s personal training program tailored to the needs of motorsport competitors ranging from circuit racing to endurance off road motorbike riders.
Preparations for Sydney-based Sutton will be limited before Sandown, but this hasn’t lowered his expectations.
“I’m ultra-competitive,” he admitted. “I do want to get a good result; I do want to get a feel for the car so I will try to get as many test days in as I can to get my head around the idiosyncrasies of these things.
“I’m sure I can do it; I just want to get out there and get into it.”
Sutton will also contest the Trans Am 100 at the Bathurst International on November 26-28, a circuit he has had success in the past after taking Class D honours in the 2017 Bathurst 6 Hour.
“We’ve entered for Bathurst, so that’s already done,” he said. “I’m looking forward to getting up there and just really getting through as many days as we can, gain data and see if we can make it the best we can.”
The next round of the National Trans Am Series will be held at Sandown International Raceway on September 17-19.
