News
The Bend yields success for Mark Rosser
Competing alongside Formula 1 and S5000s at last weekend’s The Bend Classic, recent Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS debutant Mark Rosser won his class as he continues his return to motorsport.
Current outright co-championship leader Yasser Shahin won the event last weekend swapping his usual Melbourne Performance Centre-prepared Audi R8 GT3 LMS he shares with Garth Tander for a Formula Renault 3.5 V8.
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Rosser “was first of the tin tops” in sixth as he continues his return to competition following a break of nearly 20 years where he has built a business centred around distributing board games in Australia.
“I was competing against some amazing vehicles at The Bend last weekend, especially Yasser’s car, it’s an absolute beast,” he said
There was no planning surrounding Rosser’s re-entry, however scrolling through the online classifieds he stumbled upon a car, which caught his attention.
“I probably got more into racing due to an odd opportunity really,” Rosser admitted.
“I just kept checking the my105 ads just admiring all the cars available in there and I noticed the ex-Travers Beynon Audi was there sitting around so I bought it.
“I thought I’d give it a crack and do some track days, which then turned into competing in proper racing, so it kind of escalated very quickly.
“Then all of a sudden, I was buying a current spec car because I was enjoying it so much.”
Renowned South Australian operation Team BRM has been tasked with overseeing Rosser’s campaign after initially it was devised as a self-run program.
“Team BRM have been really good to work with, I’m glad I made the right choice there,” he said.
“When I bought the car, my first thoughts there were to look after the car myself so I put it in my shed then I realised how hard it was to get it in and out of a trailer. Through a friend of mine, one of his mechanics was going to look after it, but it became apparent very quickly how difficult it was going to be.
“I actually went to university with Mark’s (Rundle) younger brother Craig and rang him to buy brake fluid for the car, but he suggested Team BRM should run the Audi, and it has followed on from there.
“It was the best decision.”
Still retaining the older Audi for state-based activities, Rosser is excited to contest the rest of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS in his new current spec R8 GT3 LMS after testing it recently.
“It went really well,” Rosser summarised.
“It’s clearly faster than the older car, it’s just that bit tighter and smoother, so I’m really looking forward to unleashing it to see where I’m at compared to the competitors in similar types of machinery.”
The season finale at Bathurst is highly anticipated for Rosser as it is a circuit he has aimed to compete at since he was young.
“It’s been a dream of mine since a little kid, I remember buying the first computer game to feature Bathurst on it TOCA World Touring Cars on Playstation 1 so that was eagerly awaited so I could drive the circuit,” Rosser explained.
“Unfortunately, I’ve never actually been there yet even though it’s always been on the to do list so I’m really excited to drive there.
“I’m also quite nervous knowing I can’t afford to make any mistakes, which will make it an interesting experience.”
The next round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Powered by AWS will be held at The Bend Motorsport Park on October 15-17.