Tim Brook is set to debut in the ARG Trans Am Australia Racing Series in 2021 driving the Wall Racing Ford Mustang. We chatted with Tim and David Wall about the series and the car ahead of the series kickoff at Symmons Plains in Tassie this weekend.
David Wall Trans Am 2021 – Video Transcript
My name is David Wall, I own Wall Racing. I suppose for me I started racing when I was 11 years old. I’ve always been around motorsport, my father raced my whole life until unfortunately we lost him in 2012 but I was at a race track since I was 2 weeks old! So I spose it was inevitable that I was gonna end up in some way, shape or form involved in motorsports so lucky enough to drive still to current days and driven multiple cars but also always had Wall Racing in the background. In the last 7 or 8 years we’ve really ramped it up and this year we introduced the Ford Mustang Trans Am car to our stables and got Brooksy on board to come do a good job for us.
So how did you come to have the car in the stable?
Look we’ve always been watching the series, if you like and the car became available to be included within our cars that we run here at the ARG events so we’re able to put the deal together and Brooksy was able to come along and be our driver so once we got the car here, it was in very good condition to start with but we made it our own a little bit more and did some upgrades and effectively touch wood, it’s been really good to us and looking forward to getting to Tasmania and showing how good that the combination can be.
A little bit about your current cars and the series that you’re running in?
Yes, so we’re running in multiple series here at Wall Racing, so we have the Trans Am car for Brooksy to run. We also run the Hondas in the TCR Australia series for Tony D’Alberto and John Martin. Then we have other classes in Carrera Cup and we also run in GT as well as other state-level events so pretty busy throughout the year but fortunate enough to work on multiple different cars with some very good people, but also very good drivers.
And what was the reason for bringing the Trans Am car into the stable?
Look for us, from a business point of view, we needed a stepping stone if you like that wasn’t as big a jump. You know, our TCR series is a fantastic series as well as Carrera Cup and GT, but they are quite pricey to go and do properly and all be it, this is expensive, but it’s not as big a jump. So for someone to come along and show how they can drive and do a good job in a one-make category on free to air live TV, it ticks all the boxes very quickly for us and we’re also going to all the TCR events anyway so to be able to put another car along with those other cars and piggyback it if you’d like along with our current platform in TCR is very easily achievable.
So one had come up available, it was basically a no-brainer and I mean who doesn’t love a Ford Mustang with a V8 it in right? Feels great to have it involved in the team and I really think that we can hit the ground running and in the limited testing we’ve been able to do due to everything happening around the country at the moment, it’s been very good and on the pace pretty quickly.
A little bit about the Wall Racing support team, the team you’ve got behind you.
Wall Racing for us, you know we have long-standing people that work with us. I don’t say for us because it’s pretty much they’re as good as mates as I’ve had my whole life.
In particular, David Fyfe has been with us over 10 years now and Todd and Tim have been with us multiple years as well. Generally, I like to think that when people come here, they don’t wanna leave. Touch wood! That’s been the case so far…
We spend a lot of time away together, but we also do other things away from motorsport together and to me as a team. That’s the best way forward. When you trust the people that you’re with more than anything, I feel like you get the most from people but you also get a better result. So yeah we enjoy what we do and it is very much a lifestyle away from what we do but you know we got some very smart people here and some unbelievable mechanics and I think that’s what makes Wall Racing.
And tell us about the trucks!
Trucks! I wasn’t a truck guy, to be honest but uh I’ve turned into one! Prior to Wall Racing or including with Wall Racing we had an earth moving demolishing business, so we always had some earth moving equipment and transporters and bits and pieces and Wall Racing has been around for over 30 years. So my dad had transporters prior, the back story of my two trucks that I have effectively is our TCR truck is our black truck or our wrapped truck and that one was my first transporter I bought personally and we’ve made it our own. And that’s now full of TCR equipment and TA2 equipment for our ARG event weekends.
Our white truck, our brand new truck from Shepparton Motor bodies is only 12 months old and that’s the uh if you like, my favorite truck. Mainly because we’re able to make it exactly what I’ve always wanted and ironically, it was the exact truck my dad was gonna buy in about 2007. So I rang the same fellow who gave me the quote. He answered the phone straight away and it kinda ticked all the boxes for me. To be able to build another truck and call it something of your own is pretty rare, I think and then I’ve turned into a bit of a Kenworth guy. We’ve got two Kenworth’s as well so we got a K104 and a K200!
Tim Brook Trans Am 2021 – Video Transcript
I’m Tim Brook and this year I’m gonna be racing in the Trans Am Australia series in the number 38 Wall Racing Ford Mustang. My background is in the Toyota 86 Racing series. In 2018 I was the champion and tried to back that up in 2019, but uh didn’t quite go to plan ended up finishing P3 in that and uh yeah looking forward to this year’s exciting challenge!
So tell us a bit about some of the awesome jobs you’ve had!
Some of the awesome jobs! Yeah, I have been fortunate enough to do some pretty cool things! Working with Car brands they’ve taken me around the country and around to various parts of the world as well. Some that probably stand out is the snow and ice experiences. With a couple of brands over the years, skidding and sliding on the ice of all things in China is probably the top of the list. Some are saying that potentially this could handle like that come lap twenty or so of 100 kilometre race so uh looking forward to that! Should be exciting!
And what about where you’re currently located and the history of the area?
Yeah, I currently living at Oran Park um no shots fired please everyone! I can tend to be everyone’s enemy there as such but it wasn’t my fault the track got closed down, but obviously, a very famous race circuit was once there that I was fortunate enough to actually cut a few laps on in my younger days both in karts and in open wheels, but yeah now it’s a busy estate, kids yelling and screaming, walking down the streets and roofs as far as you could see… a little bit different than what it used to be, that’s for sure!
So what’s the reason that you’re driving in the series?
I guess opportunity, over the last couple of years, I’ve built a good relationship with David Wall from Wall Racing and the opportunity came up that he’s taking the reigns of this Ford Mustang for the 2021 season and we started talking and I took it to a few partners that have been involved with me over the years and they all seemed pretty keen and excited about it. So yeah, let’s make it happen!
And what about the car’s name?
So the car’s named Penny, thanks to my daughter Sophie. At the time we thought it was fantastic but now we’ve come to realize that everyone in my daughter’s life is named Penny at the moment so yeah, but it’s sticking. We think it’s fantastic so it’ll stay with us for this year.
So what’s been the biggest change moving from Toyota 86 to the Trans Am?
Probably the amount of power that I get now with my right foot! So 525 horsepower as opposed to probably 150 out of the 86. Double the cylinders, triple the capacity that’s obviously gonna be the biggest thing just trying to get all that power to the ground and making it last a race distance as well, which I’m sure things will get quite exciting towards the end.
Any scary situations in testing so far?
Uh no thankfully not at the moment! Maybe that means I haven’t been pushing hard enough, but we’ll see what happens when we roll out at Symmons in a couple of weeks!
Who else have you raced with in the series?
Without seeing the entry list about the only person I know of going in that I’ve raced against is Aaron Seton. Just so happens to be that he’s the reigning champion in the class. So we kinda know where we were against him in the 86 series over the past years, but he’s got a lot of runs on the board that we have some learning to do so, I kinda see him as the main target at the beginning.
There’s a couple other competitors in there that I’ve not so much raced against but worked with on a professional level as well over the years, so it should be good to get back out there and just hang out with the boys again on a race weekend!
Which track are you most excited to visit this year?
There’s probably a couple I suppose, to be honest. Symmons Plains will be the top of the list because I’ve never ever been there before, so that will be a real steep learning curve, first race in the category and never actually having turned a lap at the track so straight in the deep end! And probably Bathurst, you know having raced at Bathurst that’s probably my favourite track that I have had the pleasure of being there and trying to tame this beast around there should be something else that’s for sure!
Catch all the action from the track streamed live on Channel 7.
Symmons Plains Schedule
Sunday, January 24
PRACTICE 1: 10.15am
PRACTICE 2: 2.30pm
Monday, January 25
QUALIFYING: 12.15pm
RACE 1: 2.50pm
TV Coverage: 7plus 12 – 6pm + 7mate 3.30 – 5.30pm
Tuesday, January 26
RACE 2: 11.50AM
RACE 3: 1.30PM
TV Coverage: 7plus 11am – 5pm + 7mate 11am – 4pm
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