TIM BROOK TOYOTA 86 GOES RETRO FOR SANDOWN

PRESS RELEASE/Tim Brook Motorsport – Photos: supplied

Toyota 86 Racing Series title leader Tim Brook will sport an all-new look on the McLaren Real Estate entry as he heads to Sandown Park Raceway this weekend for the Rabble.club Sandown 500.

Brook is set to spearhead a bumper field of Toyota 86 racers in support of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship at the first round of the 2018 Pirtek Enduro Cup.

One of the biggest events on the Australian motorsport calendar, the Sandown 500 has become a destination event with cars, drivers, teams, and spectators donning retro gear as the sport as one celebrates its history.

This weekend, the McLaren Real Estate Toyota 86 driven by Brook will be no exception, with the #34 car taking on a striking livery harking back a generation.

Creative Signworx has transformed Brook’s blue, white, and yellow McLaren Real Estate entry into a white red and blue in a call-back to the design made famous by Garry Rogers Motorsport.

Brrok will also recognise Bathurst 1000 winners Garth Tander and Jason Bargwanna, who conquered the Mountain in 2000 in similar colours, with a tribute helmet to the two Supercars legends.

“We thought it was only right to get into the retro round spirit, so a little while back we put our thinking caps on to come up with a design,” explained Brook.

“Throughout my career I’ve always raced the 34, so it made sense to go back to a car that was so successful as I began my racing career in the late 1990s.

“Back then, it was Garth Tander and Jason Bargwanna in the Supercar, so hopefully we can emulate a bit of their success a couple of years on!

“We love the retro round, it’s something a bit different and exciting, but it’s going to be tough in the car because so many guys have different paint jobs for the weekend!”

Complementing Brook’s famous paintwork is a retro-style open-faced helmet, which carries period motifs of both Tander and Bargwanna.

“Back in the day open face helmets were pretty common, more so than today,” Brook explained.

“If we’re going to give the car a bit of a new look, we thought it’d be cool to do up the helmet too.

“One one side we’ve got a bit of a GT (Garth Tander) design, and on the other the Australian flag like Bargs (Jason Bargwanna) used to race.”

Nearly two decades on from when he raced the livery in the V8 Supercars, Bargwanna is now part of the Toyota 86 Racing Series fraternity where he acts as a mentor to drivers in the series.

Brook heads into the Sandown 500 weekend leading the standings after a strong showing at The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia, where he banking critical points in his title quest.

The Oran Park native holds a 26 point advantage after the opening three events, with the season now at its halfway mark.

From Sandown Brook and the McLaren Real Estate team will head to the iconic Mount Panorama circuit in Bathurst where they will race on the biggest national motorsport event of the season.

Following the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, Brook will then head to the streets of Newcastle for an event which quickly established itself as a classic with its inaugural event in 2017.

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