January 07, 2014

 

Sydney based SRS have secured a full driver lineup for their sophomore season in the Supercup thanks to a link up with VBMotorsport

SRS had previously struggled to field a consistent lineup since its inception in the inaugural season of Formula Challenge back in 2012, missing its first three rounds as a constructor and very nearly losing its place.

Despite beginning the 2013 Supercup season with two drivers, the no. #17 car quickly became hard to fill with 5 drivers taking the seat throughout the season. Only the reliability and pace of Mark Wicks in the no. #16 car managed to save SRS from becoming defunct while achieving a respectable amount of constructors points (with Wicks scoring 102 from a total of 135 points for the team).

In an effort to remedy this, SRS has made an effort to secure a full three driver lineup through a partnership with VBMotorsport, resulting in the signings of Douwe Tapper and Mikko Suokas to lead the race team; James Johnson as the teams primary reserve driver.

Team Principal William Tringas was delighted to have secured his line up with so much time to spare stating that;

"Previous seasons have started off on somewhat of a down note, with incomplete or last minute driver signings being a great source of stress for a young team. To have signed three proven drivers who have shown that they are not only capable of scoring points but getting onto the podium and even winning races across
series is a great relief and despite the strength of the competition this has the potential to be SRS's best season to date."

Race driver Douwe Tapper had this to say about joining SRS;

"When I first joined GPVWC, about 6 months ago, I could have never imagined that I would have such a great first season. Right from the first race in Korea, I showed a good pace and turned quite a few heads and to be here now and having a few wins and podiums on my resume feels really good. However I have to thank VBM for allowing me to show my potential in the FC with Tanskanen Racing, without them, I don't think I would have gotten where I am now.
However, now that the preperations for the 2014 season are underway, I want to thank William Tringas for allowing us to race for his team, Streetfighter Racing Systems. I'm really looking forward to this season, and having Mikko Suokas alongside me makes me think, we might have a very good team to be very competitive this season in the Supercup. But for now we'll have to wait and see how everything plays out when the season start and who are the most competitive, it will be a big challenge to do well."

Teammate Mikko Suokas stated;

"I didn't feel ready moving up to Superleague yet since I hadn't even done a complete season in lower series yet. So I wanted to secure a place in Supercup as quickly as possible. I also had a feeling that a lot of drivers are after a Supercup seat so I didn't want to end up empty-handed.
We instantly had the same ideas of things in racing with Streetfighter Racing Systems. I'm happy with how things turned out to be and excited to see what we can do in 2014. Will be a big challenge. One of the things that really convinced me was the team-mate. I wanted to have a really fast team-mate who will push me to a better results. Hopefully I will be able do the same to him. Douwe certainly is very fast and knows how to race. For 2014 it's very difficult to set any goals but we know how tough it will be. The grid is unbelievably talented and every point will count in the end. I will certainly try to do my best. Hopefully with Douwe we can get SRS as high in the standings as possible.

James Johnson, the team's reserve driver, had the following to say;

"I'm really happy to have been given the chance to help out at SRS. I feel that it will be beneficial for me to be able to help out where I can for myself, as well as providing a helping hand for Douwe and Mikko. I think that it is a great opportunity for me to improve myself in open wheel cars; where I've struggled before. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank William and VBM for giving me this opportunity.