Tasman Motorsport was a

V8 Supercar The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian ...

racing team. It was formed in 2004 out of what was Lansvale Racing Team V8 Supercar team and was associated with Greg Murphy Racing as a satellite operation. Tasman Motorsport entered the series in 2004, with a single

Holden VX Commodore The Holden Commodore (VX) is an executive car that was produced by Holden from 2000 to 2002. It was the second iteration of the third generation of the Commodore. Its range included the luxury variants, Holden Berlina (VX) and Holden Calais (VX) ...

which was driven by

Jason Richards Jason John Richards (10 April 1976 – 15 December 2011) was a New Zealand motor racing driver. A multiple championship winning driver in his homeland in the New Zealand Touring Car Championship, he moved to Australia to pursue a career in the ...

. At the

Queensland Raceway Queensland Raceway nicknamed "the paperclip" is a motor racing circuit located at Willowbank in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. The circuit did host Supercars Championship until 2019, drifting as well as club level racing and ride days. Qu ...

round they introduced a VY Commodore and then entered the VX as car #43 for

Fabian Coulthard Fabian "Fabs" Coulthard (born 28 July 1982) is a British-born New Zealand professional race car driver, currently competing in the Repco Supercars Championship, driving as an endurance co-driver for Chaz Mostert with Walkinshaw Andretti United ...

for the

Oran Park Raceway Oran Park Raceway was a motor racing circuit at Narellan south west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia which was operational from February 1962 until its closure in January 2010. The track was designed and started by George Murray and Jac ...

round. 2005 saw the team upgrade to a two car operation and move to a new factory near

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, from their previous site in Sydney. With internet service provider

Dodo The dodo (''Raphus cucullatus'') is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Mauritius, which is east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The dodo's closest genetic relative was the also-extinct Rodrigues solitaire. The ...

the naming sponsor of the team, both Jason Richards, and

Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup (born 6 February 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver competing in the Supercars Championship. He currently is team principal for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He has driven the No. 88 Holden Commodore (ZB), Holden Z ...

, had some very good placings including third at the

Sandown 500 The Sandown 500 (formally known as the Penrite Oil Sandown 500) is an annual endurance motor race which is staged at the Sandown Raceway, near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from 1964. The event's name, distance – and the category of cars comp ...

and second in the

Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most recen ...

This was all after Richards was still recovering after he had one of V8 Supercar's biggest ever accidents at Queensland Raceway barrel rolling at least 6 times after a tag from Paul Morris. 2006 saw improved pace with drivers Jason Richards and Andrew Jones. Armed with many sponsors for the year, including Firepower,

SEW Eurodrive SEW-EURODRIVE GmbH & Co KG is a German manufacturing company headquartered in Bruchsal, Germany. The company produces gear units, motors, electric motor and inverter technology. The beginnings under Ernst Blickle Started with the designer Alber ...

and Sleepyhead Bedding, Tasman Motorsport won their first V8 race, with Jason Richards at

Winton Motor Raceway Winton Motor Raceway is a motor racing track in Winton, near Benalla, Victoria, Australia. History The Benalla Auto Club began planning for a permanent racing track around 1958, as a replacement for their existing track at Barjarg. In 1960 it ...

in June. At the same event the team got their best qualifying result of third on the grid. Later on in the season the team announced their plans to recruit

Greg Murphy Gregory Murphy (born 23 August 1972) is a New Zealand professional racing driver, best known as a four-time winner of the Bathurst 1000. Greg Murphy joined Jeremy Clarkson and James May presenting Top Gear Live, when it had its first internati ...

for the following 2007 Season. 2007 saw the début of the VE Commodore in V8 Supercars and the team opening a base in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Championship wise the team finished 13th and 14th with Murphy and Richards respectively and both nearly stole a Bathurst 1000 victory but finished as the highest Holden, in 4th place. Later on in the season the team announced that Rockstar Energy Drinks would come on board as a sponsor for the last two rounds of the season. The team were on the way to secure sponsorship (with Rockstar) for the 2008 season but at the last minute pulled out. 2008 saw Sprint Gas become the naming rights sponsor for what was due to be a three-year deal. Murphy and Richards started the season promisingly finishing 7th and 9th overall at the

Clipsal 500 The Adelaide 500 (also known as the VALO Adelaide 500 for sponsorship reasons) is an annual motor racing event for Supercars held on the streets of the east end of Adelaide, South Australia between 1999 to 2020 and again from 2022. It is sometim ...

in Adelaide. More top 10 results at the next round at Eastern Creek means that Murphy comes into the next round at Hamilton in 7th place with 330 points. Criticism was received around the rushed livery that Tasman were running and the team designed a new livery for the Hamilton 400. 2009 saw

Jason Bargwanna Jason Eric Bargwanna (born 26 April, 1971) is an Australian motor racing driver. Best known as a Supercars Championship competitor, Bargwanna raced in the series for 25 years, the pinnacle of which was winning, with Garth Tander, the 2000 Bathu ...

come in and replace

in the #3 Sprint Gas Racing VE Commodore. Despite a standout performance at the 2009 Bathurst 1000 which saw both cars finish in the top six, the team announced it would not be continuing into 2010 and its V8 Supercar Racing Entitlement Contracts were for sale. The team cited lack of funding for 2010 as the reasons for closure.http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/end-of-v8-road-for-sprint-gas-racing-20091119-iosr.html {{deadlink, date=December 2019

References

External links

Murhpy to Tasman MotorsportTasman Motorsport driver Greg Murphy Photo
Supercars Championship teams Australian auto racing teams New Zealand auto racing teams Auto racing teams established in 2004 Auto racing teams disestablished in 2009 Sports teams in Victoria (Australia) 2004 establishments in Australia 2009 disestablishments in Australia

See also

References

External links