Pettaras Takes A Major MINI Step

press release

Sydney based karting entrepreneur – Steve Pettaras – has taken on a new challenge in motorsport for 2008, a MINI CHALLENGE you might say, as a major supporter of the DecoRug Motorsport team in the new MINI CHALLENGE Series, which this weekend heads to Goulburn’s Wakefield Park.

Pettaras has long been a supporter of karting and has assisted many into higher levels of motorsport, including Ian Dyk, who has gone on to represent Australia in A1 Grand Prix.

After having an involvement with Formula Ford, the Clubman PRB Challenge and of course, karting, Pettaras’ focus is on assisting DecoRug Motorsport drivers, Seven Network personality, Grant Denyer and triple Gold Star Australian Champion, Paul Stokell.

The team had a successful opening round – Denyer winning the second race of the weekend at Eastern Creek and going on to finish third overall. Stokell went one better – finishing runner up to triple CIK Champion, Neil McFadyen.

Both Denyer and Stokell have tasted success at Wakefield Park in the past and when they roll onto the track this weekend, they are both in with an excellent shot at taking the round victory.

The association Pettaras has with MINI CHALLENGE has come about through a client relationship with DecoRug Motorsport owner, Bill Gremos. Gremos - a long time client of Pettaras Press – is fielding the two star drivers in MINI CHALLENGE.

“Pettaras Press concentrates a lot on promoting a fresh, young image through the design and printing solutions we provide to our clients,” Pettaras explained. “Everyone knows that MINI is a lifestyle brand which is accessible to everyone, everyone can relate to MINI, so it’s a great fit for our business.

“The association as a sponsor of DecoRug Motorsport gives us the opportunity to go to the next level above karting. The profile that this Series will provide is extremely good. The television package negotiated will allow us to further Pettaras Press and hopefully develop business relationships with other supporters of the Series.

“Not only that, having two drivers with the profile of Grant Denyer and Paul Stokell, both in the general and motorsporting worlds is a huge opportunity for us. Bill has undertaken to utilise both Grant and Paul in an extensive marketing campaign outside the actual race track and naturally, Pettaras Press will benefit.”

Bill Gremos said that having an established supporter of motorsport – particularly at the entry level – is something he was particularly pleased with.

“Steve’s a passionate guy and MINI is a brand that exudes passion. We have had a relationship for a long time and we’re very happy to have him as part of our MINI CHALLENGE team.

“It’s through the support of Steve and the other sponsors that allows us to project the professional image we are aiming for with DecoRug Motorsport. This year is a big year for us and we’re aiming for the Championship, pure and simple.”

Prior to the season beginning, Pettaras arranged for a test drive for two leading identities from karting, multiple two time CIK champion, Kristian Lindbom and former ICC racer, Justin Ruggier. The relationship with Bill, Pettaras added, allowed the two Definitive Racing drivers that opportunity.

“We’ve long had an excellent relationship with the BRM factory in Italy and have always strived to bring karters through and expose them to other levels of motorsport. We’re all about racing and developing racers, whether for open-wheelers with the Formula Ford program or now tin-tops with DecoRug Motorsport.”

MINI CHALLENGE is a new Series on the Australian motorsport scene that will visit a number of Australia’s most iconic race tracks in support of the V8 Supercar Championship Series. It utilises a BMW Motorsport-prepared MINI John Cooper Works CHALLENGE racecar. Australia was the first country in the world to race the new R56 model of this car, with the German Series starting in late April. Series’ are also conducted in the UK and New Zealand.

The car accelerates from 0-100kmh in 6.1 seconds and develops 220bhp from its twin-scroll turbocharged engine. Whilst DecoRug Motorsport has opted to take two experienced pilots in the form of Stokell and Denyer, the Series is designed for drivers of all experience levels and is a great platform for those looking to advance their careers from karting.

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