Fabian Coulthard joins Glenford Racing
New Zealand’s Fabian Coulthard has today been announced as racing veteran, John Bowe’s successor to pilot the Glenfords Racing Falcon in the 2008 and 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series. Excited by his new opportunity, Coulthard is kicking off his V8 Supercar tenure with Glenfords Racing with a public appearance at the Glenfords Tool Centres Toowoomba.
Raised in Auckland’s North Shore, 24-year-old Coulthard is looking forward to joining the Glenfords sponsored V8 Supercar team for the next step in his already stellar career.
Beginning in go karts at age six and winning four New Zealand titles, Coulthard progressed to the New Zealand Formula Ford Series and took out the title in his second attempt, before heading overseas to contest the 2003 British Formula Renault Series.
Making his tin-top debut in the Australian Carrera Cup Championship and earning the Rookie of the Year title in ’04, Coulthard went on to win his first Australian crown in the 2005 Australian Carrera Cup Series, incidentally as a Glenfords-supported driver.
Gaining valuable V8 Supercar racing experience in the 2006 and 2007 seasons, Coulthard caught the attention of Team Owner, Paul Cruickshank, leading to a full-time opportunity for the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
Coulthard will race Glenfords Racing’s newly-purchased Triple Eight Race Engineering-built V8 Supercar that Craig Lowndes drove to third place in the 2007 championship, four race wins and a stash of podium finishes.
Now Australian-based, Coulthard is set to make his first competitive hit out in the Glenfords Racing V8 Supercar when the series kicks off for round one in Adelaide with the Clipsal 500 on 21-24 February 2008.
FABIAN COULTHARD:
“I’m really excited about joining the Glenfords team for ’08 and ’09.
“V8 Supercars is such a hard category to break into; the V8 racing I’ve done in the last couple of years gave me good grounding and made other people take notice and I’m really stoked that Paul (Cruickshank) has given me this opportunity.
“The main focus is definitely to move up the order from where we were this year, and Glenfords Racing is going to give me a more competitive car than I’ve ever had before, with a great engine package and now it’s up to me to repay their faith.
“As a team, I think we’ve all got the same goal in mind and that’s to go out and do the best we can and to get some great results.
“So far, I’ve driven PCR’s 2007 V8 and it’s a lot better than what I’ve raced in the past, which is definitely exciting for me.
“We’re looking forward to an even bigger step forward with the new Triple Eight chassis. It’s a proven car that’s had results this year, so there’ll be no excuses.
“I’ve got to knuckle down and drive to the best of my ability and we should be alright. It’s very positive.
“From a New Zealander perspective, driving for a predominantly Kiwi team with a Kiwi owner is going to be great, not only for myself but for the team. You can be sure that the New Zealand round is going to be huge for us this year.
“I’ve been made so welcome already and feel really at home. It’s not just me doing my thing, it’s a group of people all going for the same goal – I can’t wait to get started.”
PAUL CRUICKSHANK:
“We are really excited to have a new talented young driver in our car for next year.
“We have gone to great lengths putting things into to place to allow our team to develop and moving the V8 Supercar further up the grid, and Fabian is one key element in that process.
“Obviously, this is a tough game and we’ve had two difficult years graduating into the category, but we’ve paid our dues and learnt a lot of valuable lessons in the last couple of seasons.
“We are now firmly focussed on the future and moving forward.”
