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Rookie Trans Am racer thrilled with dream series start
Rookie Trans Am driver Edan Thornburrow is over the moon with his incredibly consistent and fast start to the 2021 National Trans Am Series.
The #116 Team Sydney Property Care Ford Mustang driver currently sits third in the competitive series, a remarkable achievement considering his age, experience and the incredible level of talent around him.
While seasoned Trans Am competitors Aaron Seton and Nathan Herne have bolted into the distance, Thornburrow is third, just ahead of a plethora of talent, including Tim Brook, Hugh McAlister and Owen Kelly.
Driving for his privately-run, Sydney-based family team, the 17-year-old school kid is thrilled with his resuts, which has included 10 top 10 finishes and four top fives.
“My time in Trans Am so far has been awesome, from both a driver’s perspective and a team’s perspective,” said Thornburrow.
“We are only new to the national racing scene and so this year we aimed at learning as much as we could and to be third in the championship is just a huge bonus.
“As a young driver coming up through the ranks, the category has really been able to give me the exposure to racing with high class drivers around some pretty cool places in Australia from Tasmania to Bathurst and the whole process on and off track has been incredibly enjoyable for the family and I.”
Having come out of production car style racing, Thornburrow was under not illusions that the challenge of driving a powerful V8 racer would require some adjustments to his driving style.
However, he says that being pitched against such a competitive field has fast-tracked his learning.
“The competition in Trans Am has been very tough and just goes to show that there is still so much to learn and I feel that we are still taking away loads of information about not only the car but also myself every weekend,” he said.
“The goal will always be to get closer to the guys who are the regular front runners and throughout this year and the next couple of rounds, we have a good direction on what we need to work on to close the gap up.”
Despite his seemingly immediate success, Thornburrow is already set with his plans to remain in Trans Am in 2022 and enjoy the national level competition, as well as the global television exposure that the ARG-run class offers.
“The plan is to stay with Trans Am for another year. The cost effective racing and great exposure is perfect for what my family and I look for and hopefully as next year rolls around we get the opportunities needed to take my racing to the next level yet again,” he said.
“Motor racing is expensive, however, I feel that we are on the right track and I believe we will be in the right place at the right time so that everything falls into place.”
The next round of the National Trans Am Series will be held at Morgan Park Raceway in Queensland on June 25-27.