CARUSO RETURNS TO GRM

Michael Caruso returns to GRM – Photo: LAT

Michael Caruso will return to the team that gave him his first full-time Supercars Championship chance at the Townsville street race next weekend.

Caruso will drive the #33 BOOST Mobile Racing Commodore ZB for Garry Rogers Motorsport at the north Queensland venue, substituting for New Zealander Richie Stanaway who is continuing to recover from a neck injury.

“It’s going to a blast to get back in one of Garry’s race cars for the Townsville race weekend,” said Caruso.

“I have such fond memories racing for GRM. There’s so many familiar faces there, it really feels like home.”

“This would not have been possible without the approval of Tickford Racing, so I really have to thank Tim Edwards and his crew for allowing me the chance to drive at Townsville with GRM.”

“Personally, it’s going to be great to get more laps in ahead of the endurance races. I haven’t raced since the final round at Newcastle last year, but I’m sure it won’t take long for me to get my head back into race mode.”

“It’s a shame that Richie is continuing to struggle with his injury, so I’m aiming to do any best for the team and bring home some decent team’s points.”

The 36 year old, who will drive with Cameron Waters in the Monster Energy Ford Mustang in the endurance races for Tickford Racing, has been given special permission by Tickford to partake in the one-off ride.

It will be the third race weekend in a row that Stanaway has missed. He aggravated an existing neck injury on Saturday at Winton, pulling out of the Sunday race and replaced by Chris Pither. Continued neck complaints also saw Pither pilot Stanaway’s Commodore at the recent event at Darwin’s Hidden Valley Raceway.

“It is frustrating for the team having to bridge the gap until Stanaway is healthy enough to resume his full-time driving,” said Garry Rogers.

“I am conscious of the complexities of Richie’s injury. After speaking to the expert medical people this is more than a stiff joint.”

“I am grateful to Tickford Racing for allowing Robbo to take the seat at GRM. Robbo started his Supercar career here in 2008 and during his time we had some good results with a win at Darwin. ”

“A lot of the current GRM crew were here back then and it has been quite a satisfying time for myself to hear the old stories getting retold, you could say that Robbo certainly kept us amused and certainly often times bemused. I believe that his experience and driving skills could help us to improve our current performances.”

The GRM drive for Caruso is a homecoming of sorts. Garry Rogers gave Caruso his first full-time Supercars seat back in 2008 where he drove for the Victorian team for five consecutive years. During that time, Caruso took his maiden Supercars race win at Darwin in 2009 and finished third with Lee Holdsworth in the Bathurst 1000, also in 2009.

It was also at this time that Rogers gave Caruso his long-serving nickname ‘Robbo,’ a tribute to the fictional character Robinson Crusoe.

Caruso left GRM in 2013 to drive for Nissan Motorsport before leaving that squad at the end of last year.

The Watpac Townsville 400 will be held next weekend, July 5-7.

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