TMR WINS 2010 MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP
TMR Performance and the Mitsubishi Evolution have successfully defended their 2009 title to become 2010 Australian Manufacturer Champions at Sandown Raceway in Victoria.
Stuart Kostera completed the perfect weekend in his West Surfing Products TMR Evolution X, dominating the sixth and final round of the AMC at Sandown Raceway, part of the Shannons Nationals. Kostera took pole position, won both races, and set fastest lap time in both races, resetting his own record in race two. Clearly focused, Kostera’s TMR Evo was also fastest in every session.
Impressively, it is TMR’s second back-to-back manufacturers championship, making it a trio of titles for the TMR squad, with the manufacturer’s title, the driver’s title for Stuart Kostera, and the Class A championship for high-performance all-wheel drive vehicles.
Kostera’s victory proved even more rewarding given he entered the weekend, and spent much of the 2010 AMC season, chasing the championship-leading BMW 335i of Garry Holt, following Holt’s victory at the Bathurst 12 Hour, round one of the championship, where Kostera did not finish.
Throughout the remaining five rounds, Kostera worked hard to recover, an incredible mix of speed and consistency earning the West Australian every round win across the five tracks in four different states.
At Sandown, Holt’s BMW was involved in a first race, first corner accident which put him out. It was this, and his fourth place in race two, that fell short of Kostera’s dominant charge and allowed the TMR driver to overhaul the BMW and claim the 2010 trophy.
“It’s great, I’m very happy with the result this weekend and the year,” said Kostera. “We’ve always had a quick car, but everything really clicked at Eastern Creek in the Six Hour. We’ve had a really good year, Inky has pushed us all the way, and it was very pleasing to lower the lap record again today.”
Kostera’s TMR Performance teammate Ian ‘Inky’ Tulloch was second in both races, making it a double for the Mitsubishi Evolution.
TMR Performance Team Manager Alan Heaphy was equally thrilled with the result: ”Stuart has done a fantastic job all season. The Bathurst round was a frustrating start to the season, with a minor mechanical issue resulting in zero points, but it was this that provided added inspiration; throughout the season, Stuart has never put a wheel wrong. His dominance of the final five rounds was as much a credit to his consistency as his determination.
“It takes a lot of effort to put a program together like this and I’d like to congratulate and thank everyone involved, from all the TMR drivers throughout the year, to everyone in the TMR team. Building a race-winning Mitsubishi Evolution X is TMR’s speciality, but it takes a driver like Stuart and Inky to put the results down race after race.”
With support from Tulloch whose race-winning pace often pushed rivals down the field, the two-car TMR team’s finest moment was the Eastern Creek 6 Hour endurance race, where a total lack of safety cars throughout the entire race meant it was run on pure pace and strategy. It was the pairing of Kostera and V8 Supercar driver Warren Luff who took a very dominant win, with the TMR Evo X of Tulloch/Steve Jones in second, and the TMR Evo X of Glyn Crimp/Matt Cherry in fourth.
The Sandown victory wraps up a dominant and incredibly satisfying Australian Manufacturers season for the TMR Performance team, showcasing the performance of the Mitsubishi Evolution, and reinforcing it as the kings of production car racing – for the second year in a row.
2010 AMC RESULTS (S. Kostera, TMR Evo X)
Round Venue Result
1 Bathurst, NSW DNF
2 Symmons Plains, Tas 1st
3 Phillip Island, Vic 1st
4 Eastern Creek, NSW 1st
5 Morgan Pk, Qld 1st
6 Sandown, Vic 1st
Contact: TMR Performance (03) 9271 3668 www.tmrperformance.com.au