MATT BRABHAM RETURNS TO HAPPY CALIFORNIAN HUNTING GROUND
Matthew Brabham will return to competition for DeVilbiss Racing as the championship leader for races five and six of the Speed Energy Stadium Super Trucks Championship at Long Beach California this weekend.
Brabham who leads the Championship standings by 34 points, is the only driver to have stood on the podium in the four previous races this season.
Brabham is coming off a strong outing on home soil in Adelaide, South Australia, last month, where he claimed the overall round victory and was the fastest driver in every session.
As championship leader with 129 points, Brabham leads Gavin Harlien, Arie Luyendyk Jr, series creator Robby Gordon and Cole Potts. Just 43 points separating the top five in the Championship.
While Brabham triumphed in Adelaide, mayhem broke out behind him in the final race. As Brabham crossed the line for his first win of the year, Harlien followed in a plume of smoke after landing hard off the last jump, losing a wheel and spinning across the finish line in sixth place. Video of Brabham’s dominate victory and Harlien’s spin has had more 13 million Facebook views.
The 24 year-old has a bit of track and family history on his side this weekend.
Brabham won the opening Long Beach race last year and is looking to become the third driver to record multiple wins at the Southern California venue – a track where the Stadium Super Trucks have competed since their inception in 2013.
Long Beach success for the Brabham family goes back more than 37 years with Matt’s father Geoff winning the Toyota Atlantics races at the track in 1981 and 1982 before going on to finish second, sixth and third in the CART/PPG Indycar World Series races at the famous temporary Californian venue from 1984 to 1986.
Brabham’s DeVilbiss truck will also feature branding from his newly announced partner, Preston Rentals, this weekend. The new partnership with the Preston Group will see him represent Preston Rentals in the United States and Preston Hire in Australia.
This partnership follows on from the announcement that Brabham will make his PIRTEK Enduro Cup debut this September and October, teaming up with Preston Hire Racing’s Lee Holdsworth, in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship.
The Super Trucks will be supporting the Verizon IndyCar Championship at the Long Beach event.
Australian and New Zealand audiences can watch all the action LIVE on the Stadium SUPER Trucks website (http://stadiumsupertrucks.com/live/).
MATT BRABHAM – WHAT HE HAS TO SAY …
“It is great to be coming into Long Beach with the championship lead,” said Brabham who is a dual US and Australian citizen and who splits his time between Indianapolis and Queensland’s Gold Coast.
“Winning the round in Adelaide was great, especially the final race where we had really good pace. That gives us confidence heading into Long Beach.
“Dad (Geoff) had some decent results at Long Beach during his open wheel career in North America and I have always felt at home on the legendary street course.
“I am looking forward to carrying the momentum into this round and putting on a good show for the fans.
“We have some corporate guests coming from the Preston Group and with the Preston Rentals logo on the truck it would be cool to be able to carry that to a couple of big results.”
Speed Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks Schedule
Practice:
USA Local Time: Friday, 13th of April, 12:00pm
Australia AEST: Saturday, 14th of April, 5:20am
Race #1
USA Local Time: Saturday 14th of April, 5:05pm
Australia AEST: Sunday 15th of April, 10:05am
Race #2
USA Local Time: Sunday 15th of April, 4:05pm
Australia AEST: Monday 16th of April, 9:05am