February 24, 2015

 

The Australian team is ready to bounce back from a 2014 season that promised much but fell short of pre-season expectations, despite early setbacks in their preparation for the upcoming season.
The team have retained the services of Douwe Tapper for 2015 but have lost Santiago Niza just a week out from the season opener, who is unable to commit to the gruelling Supercup season due to personal reasons. Racing Team Schroten FC driver Tommi Ojala will be taking on the team's reserve role.

Team principal William Tringas reflected on highlights from 2014, which was a year that included many firsts for the team from Sydney, stating that "The team's first pole position, fastest lap and podium finish came last season with Douwe at the wheel which was a great boost to the team. However several unfortunate incidents and other mishaps throughout the season meant that we could not reel in Storm Racing Team by season's end. We're hoping to build on these results and ensure that Douwe can turn the many fights he had for these positions into strong finishes."

It's thought that after several seasons of constant in-season driver changing, Tringas was delighted to be able to retain the previous year's race drivers, however the resignation of Niza so close to the season opener has dampened hopes for a strong team finish. Tringas has so far kept quiet in regards to a permanent replacement. "It's not realistic to expect to find a quality driver with so little time before the start of the season. We do have some capable stand ins lined up but our main focus as a team will be maximizing Douwe's potential." stated the team boss.

Lead driver Douwe Tapper on his preparation for the 2015 season - "After my somewhat unlucky first season in the Supercup, I'll doing another season in service of Streetfighter Racing Systems. I'm happy to be part of this team again and look forward to improve on last season. I hope to be a better driver as a whole, because I personally feel I let the team down with my erratic driving in the 2014 Supercup season. Right now I'll focus on preparing for the 2015 season to get a better start then last year, because I feel I was under prepared once the season got underway. But apart from that, I?m looking forward to the new season and want to get the best out of myself and the car."

Reserve driver Tommi Ojala looks forward to learning the ropes this season - "It's great to be part of the team, and with only one Supercup race last season im eager to get more experience in those cars, and hopefully will get that change. and looking forward to do few practise laps with these guys so i can learn the car and setups better."

Streetfighter Racing Systems is also proud to announce its partnership with the Save The Tasmanian Devil Program Appeal. The Tasmanian Devil is an Australian icon and is at risk of extinction due to Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD), one of only two known naturally occurring transmissable cancers. First recorded in 1996, the disease has decimated the wild Devil population, with a loss of 80% of the wild population. In some Devil populations the decline can be as high as 95%.

The Appeal raises funds that go towards research and management activities that are important to the management of DFTD and the long term survival of the Tasmanian Devil in the wild. SRS will be donating a dollar to the Appeal for every point scored in their 2015 campaign, with additional amounts donated for any pole, fastest lap or podium finish and encourages fellow competitors to make any donation that they can afford.

For those interested in the conservation of the iconic creature, you can find more information about the Tasmanian Devil, DFTD and the Save The Tasmanian Devil Program Appeal at the following website: http://www.tassiedevil.com.au/tasdevil.nsf