BARGWANNA JOINS S5000 FIELD

TCR Australia racer Ben Bargwanna will trade his turbocharged Peugeot for raw V8 horsepower when he contests the opening round of the S5000 Tasman Series.

The son of Bathurst 1000 winner Jason will make his S5000 debut at the opening event of the series at Sydney Motorsport Park, steering a Garry Rogers Motorsport-prepared entry.

For Bargwanna it will be a return to his open-wheel roots, having raced in Formula Ford prior to jumping to the TCR Series this year.

At this stage, it is understood that Bargwanna will only contest the first round of the S5000 Tasman Series before returning to his TCR entry at Mount Panorama two weeks later.

Bargwanna sampled the Rogers AF01/V8 chassis for the first time in a Winton test yesterday (Monday), under the guidance of multiple S5000 race winner and teammate, James Golding.

“I am speechless, that was unreal! It’s probably one of the best things I’ve ever done, and I might have to trade in the TCR car for one of them, I think!” Bargwanna said following his Winton test.

“Sydney Motorsport Park is going to be awesome. Unfortunately, we can’t race the TCR cars but jumping in one of these beasts is going to be pretty awesome.

“I’ve had open wheeler experience before, but nothing like this – especially with the V8 power, it’s awesome.

“It’s a rush I just want to do again and again.

“Obviously it’s rear-wheel-drive and a lot more grunt so I just have to be a bit careful and go back to my Formula Ford grass roots and focus on that.

“The aero is cool, you turn into a corner and it sticks, it’s a really cool feeling. When you get to feel it for the real thing it’s unreal.

“Sydney Motorsport Park is a great track and it’s going to be really cool to run these things there.

“My expectations are just to do the best job I can. It’s my first time in it so all I can do is my best, learn as much as I can and have a bit of fun.”

GRM has already confirmed Golding and Nathan Herne will contest the full Tasman Series, which offers a $50,000 prize fund across its seven races.

The opening round of the S5000 Tasman Series will be held at Sydney Motorsport Park on November 19-21.

For more of the latest motorsport news pick up the current issue of Auto Action. Also make sure you follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or our weekly email newsletter for all the latest updates between issues.