One driver line-up of particular interest, in the 2024 edition of the Pitcher Partners Sydney 300, is the Division A trio, of Adrian Wilson, Anthony Soole, and Ninety9Motorsport’s Marcus LaDelle (TCR Australia).
It’ll be LaDelle’s third start in the Sydney 300, Wilson’s fourth, while Anthony Soole is one of ten drivers in the field lining up for start number 5.
This is a unique setup in so many ways, because, despite their vast experience, separately, in the previous editions of the Sydney 300, this is the first time these three men have teamed up together… yes, it’s a BRAND NEW driver combination.
Despite very much being an outright contender in 2022 and 2023 in Division B, this will be the first time that Anthony Soole has lined up in the outright division (A), since 2021.
For Soole, this will be the third different car he’s raced in the Sydney 300 (second BMW M4, after his was put on the market in the off-season), and the fourth different co-driver line-up to go with it.
He partnered with David Bailey Motorsport, to win Division E in a BMW E36 here at Sydney Motorsport Park in 2019, before teaming up with Andrew Smith in 2021, and 3-time ‘300’ winner, Adam Burgess for the last two years.
He scored his best outright finish last year (3rd), and has been the Division B runner-up two years in a row.
For LaDelle, this will be the first time we’ve seen him contest Division A, having competed in Division B in 2021, and Division C in 2022.
His previous two starts in the Sydney 300 were in a Toyota 86.
In 2021, he drove alongside Maisie Place Motorsport and Jake Lougher in Division B, but failed to finish.
Fourteen months later, it was a far better outcome for LaDelle, as he drove alongside Shannon Mclaine Racing, to finish 9th outright, and 3rd in Division C.
For Wilson, he’s managed to finish on the Division A podium in all three of his previous starts.
Much like LaDelle, he’s teamed up with different drivers each time he’s started this 77-lap race.
In 2021, he paired with Andre Nader to finish 3rd in division (13th outright). It was another third in division in 2022, when he partnered with Lachlan Mineeff Motorsport to finish 7th outright. They were the first car home not on the lead lap, and it was a case of what might’ve been, after they qualified second earlier in the day, and led 36 of the 75 laps.
Last year, it was an all-star line-up, when Lloyd Godfrey and Josh Buchan joined the #82 stable. They qualified on pole, but broke out to do so. Later in the night, a 5-lap post-race penalty cost them a top ten finish. They were classified 23rd outright, which was still good enough for second in Division A.
This combination will be one to watch next Saturday. It’s just one car on a growing list of serious contenders for outright honours, and should they nab the win, it’ll be BMW’s first triumph in Sydney, and first ‘300’ win since Daniel Kapetanovic and Adam Thompson’s win, for Pinnacle Automotive, at One Raceway in 2022.
EVENT INFO: https://motorrace.com.au/event/2024-round-2/
