NEW WEST TO DEBUT AT ROUND ONE OF AUSTRALIAN SPORTS RACER SERIES

For immediate release - 11 February 2016

NEW WEST TO DEBUT AT ROUND ONE OF AUSTRALIAN SPORTS RACER SERIES

A new West Race Car will make its debut at round one of the Australian Sports Racer Series, to be held at Sandown Raceway across April 1-3.

A test production car was built and tested first at the USA’s Road America (new design) – where it secured a race win and an outright lap record on debut – and then for one and a half seasons nationally in Australia (new componentry development phase), going on to win the 2015 Australian Sports Racer Series.

Now, the first full-spec production model to roll off the assembly line will be debuted by West Race Car Australia’s own Aaron Steer, with the first laps in anger to be undertaken at the Sandown event.

“We expect the new car to be extremely competitive upon debut at Sandown,” said Steer.

“In our opinion, the car is not only fast, but it really looks the goods and is sure to catch the eye of all motorsport enthusiasts - if you can’t be there at Sandown in April, make sure you watch the live stream of the racing to catch a glimpse of it and make the call for yourself!"

The team at West has been working hard on the new model for more than a year, with parts tested during the 2015 Australian Sports Racer Series on its current fleet, extensive wind tunnel testing conducted to ensure world-class aerodynamics, and Computer Aided Drawing (CAD) of all components allowing testing of stress analysis, just like that undertaken in standard production cars.

“This car has many new and exciting features,” said Steer. “There is new bodywork to reduce the overall drag by 23% and increase downforce by 16%; the overall weight of the car has been reduced with the use of more prepreg carbon fibre; and a new dry sump has been developed to allow West and our customers to extract more horsepower from the engine, with added reliability.

“We have also redeveloped many components to make the car stronger and more reliable in both endurance and sprint racing, and introduced a new electronics package which allows full integration of all electronic components on the car for ease of diagnostics and fault finding, while also providing for added engine protection and advanced data logging.

“In building this car, we wanted to allow both expert and amateur drivers to be able to race competitively. In this aim, we have also simplified all car controls to allow those drivers who are not mechanically minded to drive without having to worry about dash read-outs, alarms and so forth, and made the cockpit wider to enable all drivers to hope in and enjoy the fun.”

Each car will begin life in Bangkok, before the finishing touches occur here in Australia. The name for the new car will be unveiled as part of its debut at Sandown Raceway in April.

“It has been a long road to get to this point, but we couldn’t be more excited to launch this new model of West Race Cars into the market in 2016,” said Steer.

"We now manufacture a lot of the components for the cars in our Bangkok factory, as it allows us to reduce costs for parts and the overall car, while allowing us to maintain our own quality control to ensure the highest quality product at the most affordable price for our customers.

“The final assembly of the cars will take place here in Australia, at the West Race Cars Australia facility in Melrose Park, SA.”

ABOUT THE AUSTRALIAN SPORTS RACER SERIES
The Australian Sports Racer Series is an exciting national motorsport series providing something different amongst Australia’s crowded motorsport landscape. Launched in 2010, the Series joined the popular Shannons Australian Motor Racing Nationals in 2014, successfully launching the Series onto the national stage.

With spiritual links to the hugely popular sports car racing scene of the 70s and 80s, these Le Mans prototype style sports cars offer scintillating performance, amazing dynamics and spectacularly close racing.

Designed to maximise aerodynamic performance while weighing just 400kgs, these racers are powered by high-tech production-based motorcycle engines which rev to 13,200 rpm. Capable of punching out lap times equal to the mighty V8 Supercars at many circuits around Australia, these rockets are sure to grab your attention, whether you are behind the wheel, or in the grandstand.

In 2015 the Australian Sports Racer Series employed a new championship structure, which will see the introduction of divisional racing for the category - allowing more of the field to compete for race day honours whilst also still being in the running for the ‘outright’ SR1 Championship.

All drivers will be seeded according to their performances at previous national rounds and/or their domestic meetings, while racers for individual events will be seeded on their merits. SR2 points will be awarded as per the 2015 Series Sporting Regulations, and SR2 drivers who qualify more than twice in the top three or finish a race more than twice in the top three during a season will be reclassified to be eligible only for the SR1 championship.

For more information on the Australian Sports Racer Series, go to www.sportsracer.com.au

2016 AUSTRALIAN SPORTS RACER SERIES CALENDAR:
·         Round One - Sandown Raceway, April 1-3
·         Round Two - Winton Raceway, June 10-12
·         Round Three - Queensland Raceway, July 29-31
·         Round Four - Phillip Island, September 9-11
·         Round Five - Sydney Motorsport Park, November 11-13

For media enquiries, please contact:
Amanda Jackson
Media Manager – Australian Sports Racer Series
Phone: 0421 378 789
Email: amanda@jigsawcomms.com.au
Web: www.sportsracer.com.au  

For high-res images please click the thumbnails below (media use only)


A new West Race Car will be debuted at round one of the Australian Sports Racer Series (Image: supplied by West Race Cars Australia)


During the componentry development phase, a test model was run in the 2015 ASRS Series, and took out the title with Mark Laucke at the wheel (Image: West Race Cars Australia)


A range of changes have been made in the new model, including simplified car controls (Image: West Race Cars Australia)