Team Sydney secures Coca Cola backing

The Coca Cola ZB Commodore is one of two Triple Eight-built customer cars that the Sydney squad will run this season. James Courtney, who announced his move from Walkinshaw Andretti United in October, will be the team’s lead driver. New Zealander Chris Pither drove the other car at the pre-season BP Ultimate SuperTest at The Bend, and while it hadn’t been announced at time of writing, the Kiwi will almost certainly be the team’s second driver,. 

The livery on the Team Sydney car at the series launch suggested Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) are the primary sponsor of Team Sydney, and the appearance of the two cars at the SuperTest seems to confirm that this ‘total coverage’ livery will carry through to the season proper (after this issue went to press).

Team Sydney may be a new name, but it’s essentially a rebranding of Tekno Autosports. The Jonathon Webb-run outfit is relocating from their existing base on the Gold Coast to a temporary facility within Sydney Motorsport Park (SMSP) shortly, then a permanent base at SMSP later this year.

Webb will remain as Team Principal and relocate to Sydney, with a handful of current Tekno team members expected to also make the move, but Webb stated at the season launch he was looking for Sydney-based personnel to fill a number of roles. 

Established in 2011, Tekno’s highlights include winning the 2016 Bathurst 1000, but success has been elusive recently, with last year’s team driver Jack Le Brocq failing to achieve a single top-ten finish all season.

As with the second driver, Team Sydney’s enduro pairings were also unconfirmed at time of writing. Last year, Webb drove the endurance rounds with Le Brocq, but has yet to confirm any driving duties for the 2020 season.