Recently crowned New Zealand Toyota GR86 champion Hugo Allan will make his Monochrome GT4 Australia debut at Round 2 in Sydney courtesy of the Tony Quinn Foundation.
The 20-year-old, whose birthday will be celebrated prior to his maiden appearance at Sydney Motorsport Park is set to join Tony Quinn in the Game Over-supported Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 as reward for his recent title success.
It won’t be Allan’s first trip to Australia to compete either, having built a friendship with rising star Max Geoghegan through sim racing and being invited to share a Hyundai Excel.
Through his Rookie of the Year success in the New Zealand Toyota GR86 Championship, Allan won a drive in the Australian series at Bathurst to finish a best of eighth in the 2022 final.
The Tony Quinn Foundation’s goal is to support young New Zealanders with talent and determination to make it on the world stage, with Allan the latest in a long line of individuals to have been supported by the initiative, will includes Callum Hedge, Liam Sceats and Jackson Rooney, while Formula 1 driver Liam Lawson is one of its ambassadors.
Preparations for his Monochrome GT4 Australia debut have been a whirlwind since his prize was announced at the final round of the New Zealand GR86 Championship at Taupo, which included Allan recent testing a Toyota Supra Evo2 successfully.
Allan is excited for the challenge of racing against a Silver-Am Cup field including current or previous Supercars drivers Cameron Crick, Aaron Seton and Lochie Dalton.
Allan is poised to share the co-drive alongside Quinn with New Zealand GR86 Championship Rookie of the Year Chris White.
The next round of Monochrome GT4 Australia will be as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries event at Sydney Motorsport Park on May 2-4.
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Hugo Allan
#101 Game Over Toyota Supra GT4 Evo2
“It’s not my first time racing in Australia, but this time it feels like it has more purpose as there is a genuine pathway for drivers like me that don’t have a lot of funds to go further,” said Allan.
“I’m just super excited and thankful to Quinny for giving me the opportunity to do this based of my performances in the Toyota 86 Series in New Zealand. With Quinny helping us out there’s potential for more GT4 drives.
“It’s not my first time racing in Australia, I joined Max Geoghegan in a Hyundai Excel contesting a couple of races. Max is a friend of mine from sim racing and I’ve also raced in the Toyota 86 Racing Series a couple of years ago at Bathurst.
“I’ve recently had a test day in the Toyota Supra GT4 Evo2 at Taupo and it was so cool. I loved it. Going from an 86 to the Supra is a big step and it’s just so much better in every way, so it was nice to drive a proper race car.
“I feel really ready for it. I’m just excited and I feel like I’ve got the ability to put on a great show, plus a solid performance. I’ll just work with Quinny and the team to try to get the Supra quick, which it will be, while I’ve also completed work in the sim.
“It’s going to be really cool to compete against drivers such as Cameron Crick and Aaron Seton, so it makes it a good proving ground for us.
“I want a few more laps in the Supra, but I feel like I can take the fight to all of them and put on a good show with Quinny.”