Frentzen out, Castroneves in for Gold Coast 600

Heinz-Harald Frentzen has stepped aside from active motorsport and withdrawn from the V8 Supercars Australia round at Surfers Paradise, allowing three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves to take his place.

Helio Castroneves was unable to commit when originally invited to appear, but with Frentzen now stepping aside, the door was opened for the Brazilian to join Tim Slade in the Stone Brothers Racing run Wilson Security Racing Ford in October.

“When the concept for the Gold Coast 600 was announced I was disappointed I could not make it, but the withdrawal of Heinz-Harald has given me another chance to accept an invitation and I am very excited” said Helio.

“I loved watching the V8 Supercars when we were down in Australia in 2008 and I watch as many races as I can on Speed Channel here in the US.”

V8 Supercars Australia CEO Martin Whitaker, said of Castroneves announced participation:
“He is a class act, as you would expect from a Team Penske driver. He is a superstar in the US and Brazil and we cannot wait to see what he does behind the wheel of a V8 Supercar.

“We have to thank Roger Penske and his team for allowing his trio to be involved in this event and wish them every success for the remainder of the IndyCar season.”

With Frentzen’s withdrawal, that’s one less touring car star competing, but there are still plenty of others in the line-up, including:

Dario Franchitti (DTM/ITC)
Fabrizio Giovanardi (ITCC, ETCC, WTCC & BTCC)
Alain Menu (BTCC, DTM, WTCC)
Tiago Monteiro (WTCC)
Gianni Morbidelli (BTCC, ITCC, WTCC, SuperStars)
Yvan Muller (BTCC, WTCC)
Andy Priaulx (BTCC, ETCC, WTCC)