Just recently M-Motorsport team leader Justin McMillan revealed that he would be moving from the Lamborghini Gallardo that took him to fourth place in the 2014 Australian GT Championship, to a Reiter Engineering prepared Chevrolet Camaro GT3 with a former Formula One driver sharing the driving duties.
Whilst fantastic news to the ever-growing category, what the news did was prompt questions about where the pole-sitting Lamborghini would go for season 2015, and what of McMillan’s 2014 co-driver Steven Richards.. Now, all can be revealed.
For the 2015 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli, the M-Motorsport team will campaign three cars – an Interlloy liveried Camaro GT3 for McMillan and Tomas Enge, a second Camaro for Victorian Dale Paterson and Richards, and their Gallardo FL2 GT3 for Queensland’s John Magro.
“I’ve been talking to Dale [Paterson] for some time about running the Camaro,” McMillan explained. “He was one of the first drivers to make contact after we’d done the deal with Reiter Engineering to be the agent for this part of the world for the Sareni Camaro.
“He also came to New Zealand to have a look first hand at the Inky Tulloch Camaro and was impressed with how it went and the feedback he got from Inky and Craig Lowndes who shared the car at Highlands.
“To be honest, that event changed my mind too about my direction moving forward, and after discussions with Reiter in Germany, and with Steve, we elected to make a change from the Lamborghini and assist in the development of the Camaro with a two-car team.
“What that meant though was that we had a Gallardo that we weren’t going to run after the Bathurst 12-Hour, and as soon as I started making noises about leasing that I was inundated with calls.
“In the end John Magro was looking for a drive, and together with his supporters, they put a deal to me that was too good to refuse, which meant that we were able to build M-Motorsport into a three car team for the 2015 season.”
For Magro the deal allows the former open-wheel star to return to AGT after a stint in the Trophy Class alongside fellow Queenslander Ockert Fourie last season.
“Ockert unfortunately has been forced to sit out the bulk of the coming season because of a medical condition,” Magro explained. “That meant his car would also be out of action for much of the year, and as a result I needed to find an alternative.
“I looked at a number of options, but in the end, the Lamborghini provided not only the best package, but an opportunity to race with the front runners and go after the Championship.
“I’m really looking forward to it, I can’t thank M-Motorsport enough for the opportunity. Australian GT is a great category and I am very privileged to be a part of it.”
Whilst Magro’s performance in 2014 proved that he can expect to be an outright threat this season, so too M-Motorsport’s third entry, the #70 DPM Motorsport Camaro of 2014 part-timer Dale Paterson.
“The minute Justin revealed the new Camaro GT3 I knew I had to have one,” Paterson reflected.
“It is everything I want in a race car and more.. DPM Motorsport is predominantly an engine tuning and high performance business that works for the most part with Chevrolet and Holden products, so the Camaro fits exactly what I’m looking for on a number of levels.
“Justin and the M-Motorsport team have helped me immensely over the last six months in putting the deal together, and it became even sweeter just recently when they revealed that Richo would also be available to drive with me.
“I love the car and I think at somewhere like Clipsal or Townsville we’ll be right in the mix, but it’s new to me too, so I’ll be pushing hard to get the most out of it but I’ll also be looking to finish every race because that’s what is important in achieving results.”
Magro and Paterson still have six weeks to wait until the opening round of the 2015 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli on the streets of Adelaide, although for the M-Motorsport team, their season starts with the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-Hour in just under weeks where McMillan and Richards will be joined by New Zealander Craig Baird in the #48 Interlloy Lamborghini.
Source. Motorsport Media
Sportscar Racing News 
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