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John Martin and AGI Sport link up for S5000
John Martin has teamed up with long-time Australian open wheel team AGI Sport to compete in the inaugural race meeting of the all-new S5000 class at Sandown later this month.
Martin becomes the fifth driver confirmed for the race event, alongside a superstar line-up including Rubens Barrichello, Matthew Brabham and Will Brown.
Martin is no stranger to open wheelers, having spent the majority of his driving career in high-powered wings and slicks race cars. In the past, Martin has raced in high-profile championships such as A1 Grand Prix, Formula Renault 3.5 and the Superleague Formula.
The Sandown meeting will be a busy one for Martin, who will compete in both the S5000 and his regular drive in the carsales TCR Australia Series.
Martin has had two recent opportunities in the S5000 cars, driving the prototype at Queensland Raceway and being part of the evaluation test day at Phillip Island last week.
His entry will feature confirmed support from UMS (Urban Maintenance Systems) alongside other backers. The livery of his S5000 race car will be revealed in the coming days.
Sydney-based team AGI Sport, headed by respected team owner Adam Gotch, will field Martin’s entry, and are likely to enter a second car as well for a yet-to-be-confirmed driver.
Gotch also needs no introduction to open wheel competition. He worked for Williams Grand Prix between 2002-2005, managed Australia’s A1GP team (including while Martin drove the entry), and has entered cars in the Australian Formula 4 Championship, winning the title on three occasions.
The maiden S5000 race meeting at Sandown is shaping up as an historic weekend. Not only will Australia see the return of a homegrown open wheel class, the TCR Australia Series will make its first visit to the suburban Melbourne venue, as well as the Australian GT Championship, the popular Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, Production Cars and the Super3 finale.
The S5000 class, as well as TCR Australia, will be broadcast live, free and in HD on SBS on both Saturday and Sunday of the Sandown race weekend.
Tickets for the historic event are on sale now. CLICK HERE for more details.
John Martin
Driver, S5000
“It should be a good challenge. It’s going to be really cool, and it’s quite a thrill to be involved in the very first race,” said John Martin.
“Some people are saying that this is Australia’s version of IndyCar, but one thing is for sure, it’s going to be exciting.
“As soon as Rubens Barrichello was announced, I was like “I definitely have to be on the grid now.”
“It will be a pleasure to race against him and some of the others that have already been confirmed.
“The car is straight out of development, and a real credit to the guys at GRM to have put them all together and done such a good job. A few teams will get their hands on them and try and extract as much as they can out of them.
“The cars are pretty fast and loose, and the racing should be awesome. Low aero, high horsepower. I can’t wait for Sandown. It’s going to a mega race weekend.”
Adam Gotch
Team owner, AGI Sport
“I am very passionate about open wheelers and I have a real soft sport for V8 wings and slicks racing,” said Adam Gotch.
“I’ve been worked with these types of cars for a number of years, both overseas and here in Australia, and it strikes a strong interest for me and my team here in Sydney to be involved in S5000.
“I’ve known John for a long time. He drove with me in A1GP in 2009. He is a great driver, and I enjoyed working with him 10 years ago. I fully expect to enjoy my time with him again in this exciting new category.”