Tratt confirms Evangelou for enduros

The fifth round of the HPDC V8 Supercar Series at Mallala may be on top of Tony Evangelou's agenda this weekend, but the Melbourne man can also look forward to a significant step up in his racing career next month, having signed up to make his V8 Supercar debut in Anthony Tratt's Toll Racing Holden at Sandown and Bathurst.

Tratt, a consistent performer around the daunting Mount Panorama circuit, with eight starts and a best result of twelfth under his belt, insisted that the decision to hire the 39-year old Dexion Racing driver had been an easy one.

"Tony has got plenty of current miles in the V8 Supercars, and he's proved to be a consistent performer," Tratt said, "I'm sure he'll do a good job. His role will be to stay out of trouble, maintain a comfortable pace and bring the car home in one piece. I have every confidence that he'll be able to do that easily."

Evangelou is excited about the prospect of competing against the likes of Mark Skaife, Craig Lowndes and reigning double V8 champion Marcos Ambrose.

"It will be a dream come true to race at Bathurst," he admitted, "I'm not out to prove anything. There will be a lot I'll be able to take out of the two races and it will be a great experience to be involved with a professional team like Toll Racing."

While Sandown and Bathurst beckon, Evangelou will pedal his ex-Tratt Ford Falcon BA around Mallala this weekend series with the expectation of a consistent HPDC performance. The team elected not to test before the meeting, consolidated its resources and made sure that the engine, gearbox and chassis was ready for the bump and grind of the tight South Australian layout.

"It's a bit of a goat track," Evangelou said of the 2.6km circuit, "I actually don't mind the layout of the track though. It's not bad, but I think the V8s have outgrown it. There is always a bit of carnage, particularly in the reverse grid race. I hope we can avoid that and bring the Dexion car home in one piece, maybe even with a good result."

The team has replaced the engine for this round with the unit that was originally in the car when the purchased it at the start of this year. Also, the gearbox has been fixed after a bent input shaft was discovered after the Queensland Raceway round last month.