New driver, team combination confirmed for S5000

Melbourne driver Michael Gibson has confirmed his entry for the opening races of the new S5000 category.

Gibson, whose background includes Sports 2000 and touring cars, is also a motorsport engineer, tending the cars owned by Melbourne racer, Apex Steel’s Joe Calleja.

Gibson’s S5000 programme, initially to contest the two 2019 launch events, comes courtesy of former Formula Holden racer Albert Callegher (ACM Finance), and sponsors WM Waste, Apex Steel and ACMF.

Gibson comes from a broad motorsport family background. His father was a well-known sports car racer. Bevan Gibson, an uncle, was tragically killed at Bathurst back in 1969, age 23, while driving an Elfin 400, which flipped on the main straight, while two other uncles raced sports cars and F2, and spent time in F1 as race mechanics.

The team will take delivery of a brand new S5000 car shortly, to be based at Apex Racing’s facility in Melbourne, and prepared for the lead-in test day at Phillip Island in two weeks’ time.

“Since I was 16 I’ve been trying to put together a deal to race at a decent level – the fact that it is now happening, especially in something as awesome as S5000, is a bit surreal,” said Gibson.

“I’m incredibly thankful and grateful that Albert, Mark Jeffs (WM Waste), Joe, and others have combined to make this happen. We’ll be giving it our best shot.”

Albert Callegher said that as a former team owner and driver in Formula Brabham/Holden, he’s looking forward to backing Gibson. “Having watched S5000 evolve, and with my love of open-wheelers all the way up to F1, what has been created is a practical race car, economical to run, yet very fast – and with all the sound and looks of an F1 car to the average spectator and the corporate partners proposing to join us.”

S5000 Category Manager, Chris Lambden was pleased to receive Gibson’s entry.

“Knowing Michael had the basics of a budget, and the motivation to get involved, and on the other hand Albert – a former racer with the desire and capability to create a team – we simply brought the two of them together. They met for the first time a couple of weeks back and now we have a complete entry.

“People who can remember back that far will recall that legendary F5000 champion in the 70s, Warwick Brown, got his start because his neighbour wanted to go racing … it’s great that we are able to put something like that together today,” said Lambden.

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