CHRIS Pither’s crucial role in facilitating a Dunlop Super3 Series debut for Valentino Astuti has been revealed.
Pither will be sidelined from this weekend’s action at Sandown, his four-round Porsche Carrera Cup deal with EMA Motorsport having come to an end.
Without anywhere for him to race, the Kiwi Supercars veteran was able to channel support behind Astuti, the 2022 Australian Formula Ford champion who struck a last-minute deal to race a MW Motorsport Nissan Altima.
“I’m fortunate that I have some great sponsors in Coca-Cola and Bowser Bean but unfortunately, I was unable to find a Porsche to race for the weekend,” said Pither.
“It’s great that we have been able to get Coke and the team at Bowser Bean on track by supporting a young up and comer in Valentino.
“Caltex have always been a great supporter of young talent and it’s great that they have jumped onboard with Valentino as well.”
Astuti’s #3 Altima livery was unveiled on the eve of Sandown track action getting underway, in what is his first race meeting in almost a year.
“It has been a long time since Formula Ford but getting everything together with Matt White, he has been a massive help and all the sponsors on the car: Coca-Cola, Bowser Bean, Caltex as well, Enidine who were with me last year,” he told V8 Sleuth.
“I just can’t wait.”
With just a single test day under his belt, last week at Winton, Astuti is taking a realistic approach.
“No expectations for myself for this round. Obviously I want to do the best I can and just see how things go,” he said.
As for his chances of making the final two rounds of the season at Bathurst and Adelaide?
“We’ll have to wait and see. I definitely want to do the rest of the year, I just have got to try to find some more support.”
This is MWM’s first Dunlop Series appearance since Newcastle in March, where it fielded Jaylyn Robotham in a Super2 Mustang.
V8 Sleuth’s ongoing coverage of the Dunlop Series for Super2 and Super3 is proudly presented by Biante – Fuel your passion with winning model cars. Visit Biante here to check out their range of model cars in a range of scales from 1:64 to 1:10.
