MCNAMARA JOINS AUSTRALIAN GT

Former Holden Motorsport boss Simon McNamara has been appointed the Commercial Director of Australian GT Sportscar Group PTY LTD, commencing the role immediately.

The appointment comes with the announcement that Michael Rasmussen will step into the role of Technical Director for Australian GT. McNamara will work in generating commercial partnerships for the category, Rasmussen works with Motorsports Electronics Limited based in Auckland, New Zealand and will continue to develop the Australian GT MoTec data logging system and ensure the Balance of Performance requirements are applied to each vehicle.

Australian GT manager Ken Collier is excited to have the experience and ideas of McNamara join Australian GT.

“Simon is not only well credentialed, and very enthusiastic, but also highly experienced in the establishment of commercial partnerships and thinking outside of the box,” said Collier.

“We must make sure that we are providing the competitors, their sponsors and our commercial partners with opportunities to promote their brands.

“This will allow us to build Australian GT racing and expand the fan base through direct and media interaction.

“We also want to review our calendar of racing, find new racing opportunities, have increased manufacturer involvement and integrate GT4, so there is a lot of work to do this year.”

McNamara is equally enthusiastic about the opportunity to work with Australian GT competitors and management.

“I’ve north of 15 or 20 years motorsport related activities in my role at Holden; it’s lots of learning that we can bring to Australian GT as we go forward,” said McNamara

“Australian GT is in a really nice shape for marquee brands, and is really well run.

“The future of what GT3 and GT4 represents, the marquee brands that are associated with it now and going forward, and what we can do with those guys to develop sales for them and their partners, it’s exciting to be a part of it.”

Australian GT category owner Tony Quinn feels McNamara can add to the commercial direction of the category, which he feels needed improvement.

“It’s a good addition to a good team, and that can only mean good things,” explained Quinn.

“Simon is a very accomplished and well regarded motorsport figure in Australia.

“With the advent of GT4, the Australian Endurance Championship, and Australian GT Championship, I felt it needed a little bit more commercial direction.

“If I can add somebody in that’s accomplished in the commercial side of motorsport, I can only imagine that would be a good result.”

Rasmussen will travel from Auckland for each round of the championship, starting with Barbagallo in May. Collier is pleased to have someone as experienced as Rasmussen, a qualified mechatronics engineer, to make sure the cars are adhering to the regulations.

“We have also appointed Michael Rasmussen to the role of Australian GT Technical Manager,” Collier confirmed.

“Michael is based in Auckland, New Zealand, and works with Motorsport Electronics Limited, so he will travel from his home to our championship events.

“Michael will continue the work of Ian Kay to further develop our Australian GT MoTec data logging system and ensure that the Balance of Performance requirements are being applied to each vehicle.

“We also get a lot of data from the loggers to support the sporting and technical regulations such as the pit stop timing and in-car video so having a MoTec expert working with us is now critical.”

The next round of the Australian GT Championship will be as support to the Supercars at Phillip Island on April 21-23.