December 16, 2012
Published on tags: Supercup
CSG Racing have confirmed that the team's 2012 reserve driver Jamez Shepherd will lead the team's championship bid for the 2013 season at the wheel of the '0' car. With the team having confirmed Roy Schroten in early November, speculation has been rife as to who would be joining the young Dutchman in what the team is hoping will be a season in which they can improve further upon their unexpected 2012 form.


The Australian is no stranger to the CSG team, having worked with them throughout the latter stages of the season in a support role to then team-mate Alex Cooper, taking one victory and two podiums from his three starts for the team. Shepherd was announced as the Midnight Motorsport reserve driver for the 2013 season in late November, and so his signing for the CSG Supercup outfit makes a great deal of sense given the extensive collaboration between the two teams.


Shepherd was upbeat about his 2013 prospects when asked about the deal:


"It's a great feeling to have all my 2013 contracts sewn up before Christmas. I've stepped back into the Midnight/CSG family and it feels like I never left. When I debuted for CSG Racing in September it instantly felt right. The team knew me, I knew them, and we just went about business as if we had been together all season. I'm so glad to have my Supercup contract renewed with a team that has so much racing pedigree it practically oozes from the walls of the garage. The energy in this team is electric. It's just too hard to walk away from it!


I have some big shoes to fill with Alex moving into the Midnight seat next year. He thoroughly deserves the promotion, and I can think of no one better to take over Nick's vacant seat. I'm also looking forward to working with Roy. 'Most Improved Driver' of the year, and someone who I know will push me all season long.


Naturally we're aiming to take the titles that we narrowly missed out on this season. With our driver line-up sorted early we can relax a little and enjoy the Christmas break before starting an early test program as soon as the 2013 car is ready. It's going to be one hell of a year - I can't wait!"


Team Owner Dave Carr-Smith said that the team was looking forward to a very exciting season:


"As Jamez said, it's great to have everything sorted out and agreed upon prior to Christmas. Pre-season activities start very quickly after the new year break and so having our driver line-up set in stone at this point in time will most certainly help the team as we can now focus all our efforts and attention on being ready for Melbourne.


Having Jamez back in the team on a full-time basis is great, not only do we know what he is capable of, but he is the perfect team mate for Roy, with his level of experience and technical knowledge I am sure that it will benefit the both of them as we hope to help Roy fulfil the potential that he has shown throughout this year; I expect that they will work very well together.


Having two full-time drivers in the team will make a big difference to our season, perhaps if we had achieved the same last year we might have been able to mount a stronger challenge to the Constructor's championship, but we hope that we have learned from our mistakes and can make up for it this year with what I am sure will be one of the strongest pairings on the grid.


Also very important to us is maintaining our collaborative partnership with Midnight Motorsport, as we have seen over the past year with Alex acting as third driver to the team and now moving up to a full-time race seat, it is a key relationship and one that I fully expect will help both teams throughout the upcoming season. Having four very capable drivers working in unison is sure to bring about a number of improvements both on and off the circuit, particularly with the two series being brought together closer than ever for the 2013 season.


I'm very much looking forward to getting the season underway, I think that, as a team, we are in a great position."


The team refrained from making any comment regarding the identity of the team's reserve driver, but given recent announcements from the series organisers, it is expected that CSG will look to the Formula Challenge category for a driver to fulfil the role; Carr-Smith mentioned that news regarding this very topic would be revealed in the near future.