A small but nice tradition in the VLN will continue in 2015 with the participation of the Team TMG United for the third time in the popular endurance racing championship. Like in the past years, the TMG team will enter a TMG GT86 CS-V3. Charlotte Wilking, winner of the driver selection in 2014, has already been nominated as one of the drivers. Her team mate in the cockpit of the competitive sports coupé will however again be determined in another talent-selection process during the VLN test and set-up session on 14th March.
TMG United: hobby drivers in true competition
TMG United recruits its members exclusively from amongst the staff of TOYOTA Motorsport. They come from various departments of the enterprise and all work on this motorsport project in their free time. Their engagement in TMG United provides them with the opportunity to pool their comprehensive theoretic know-how in motorsport and to put it into practice in the workshops and out on the track. The realigned team for 2015 comprises 10 members. New team manager is Martin Duke. The 49-year-old American has worked for TMG in Cologne for many years and he is currently the financial controller for the TMG works team in the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC. “We are currently preparing the car for the new season. Our TMG GT86 CS-V3 will stay more or less the same as last year. We will again compete in the close-to-production class V3. In the past two years, we achieved one class victory in each season respectively. This time, we will go for two wins,” said Martin regarding the season objectives of the TMG team.
Duke expects “Enthusiasm for motorsport, a whole lot of talent and the willingness to become fully integrated into the team of enthusiastic hobby racers”. It is already certain that the team will compete in the first six VLN races. More races are possible, if budget suffices. All of the races will take place at the “green hell”, the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife. Charlotte Wilking will compete in all races. The self-employed forwarding agent won the 2014 TMG driver selection and, as number 1 driver in the team, will this season also act as instructor for her new team mate in the TMG team. “You first have to get used to our car due to its right-hand drive. But I will certainly be able to help with my experience. Otherwise, I hope that our new talent is learning quickly, will get better over the season and drive safety and reliably”, Wilking said.
Moritz Oestreich, winner of the first TMG driver selection in 2013, is no longer part of the team. The driver from Petersberg/ Germany used the TMG support to gain reputation in the VLN and he will now start as regular driver in an established endurance racing team. “This demonstrates that the participation in our team can be the launch pad for a career in the VLN series,” Martin Duke explained. “I think there can be no better advertisement for our team.”
This is how the “casting” works
Interested race drivers can send their application for a place in the TMG GT86 CS-V3 cockpit by sending an e-mail to [email protected]. The documents can be downloaded from http://goo.gl/w4qTrE and must be completely filled in. Eligible are rookie driver, male or female, at least 18 years of age but no older than 28 years. They should have some experience at the Nordschleife and must hold at least the Nordschleife licence B. The application closing date is 9 March 2015. Selected drivers will be invited for an interview to be conducted during the test and set-up session at the Nürburgring on 14 March 2015.
