A Queenstown company has expanded to fielding a stable of three TCR racers in this year’s South Island Endurance Series (SIES), which begins on Saturday at Invercargill’s Teretonga Park.
The M Developments team will run two Volkswagen Golf GTI TCRs and a Seat Cupra TCR in the three-round series. The crew is made up of the friends and family of the drivers.
With two South Island Class B titles and two national Class B titles locked away, anyone would think M Developments’ owner Barry Moore and co-driver Tim Mackersy, of Dunedin, would not be encouraging any competition for their recently-revamped Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR (#79). Far from it — they have invited class rivals Mike Driver (Timaru) and Phil Hood (Blenheim) into the fold and sold them a virtually identical Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR (#66), which they will race as part of the M Developments team.
‘‘They were our main competition for the past couple of seasons and ran an old-style Seat Leon. Mike and Phil decided to upgrade their current car and asked us to run it. For us it is about a passion for racing, respect and having fun, and we feel Mike and Phil share those sentiments, so they are a perfect fit,’’ Moore said.
He and Mackersy are hoping to achieve a hat-trick of South Island titles and have upgraded their TCR accordingly. The VW is sporting a facelift body kit, and an updated steering and aerodynamics package. The team also carried out a full engine and gearbox rebuild in the off season.
‘‘We are delighted to be running three TCRs this season and to see more on the grid given our support of TCR over the past few years. Certainly, there is more competition, but that’s what racing is all about,’’ Moore said.
Mackersy’s Arrowtown-based father Ron was considering racing retirement after last season but when M Developments imported a Seat Cupra TCR (#275) from Denmark earlier this year, his interest was piqued. He will team with Dunedin’s Warren Good in this well-travelled racer, which has competed in the Spa-Francorchamps 12-hour, Silverstone 12-hour and Barcelona 24-hour endurance races. Despite sharing the same underpinnings, the Cupra is set apart from the Volkswagens with a DSG gearbox and racing ABS kit.
- Catherine Pattison
Photo: Larsson Photography
