M2 Competition Enlists Indy Car Expertise

30 July 2013

M2 Competition Enlists Indy Car Expertise Ahead of 2014 TRS Season

2013 Toyota Racing Series (TRS) team and drivers champions, M2 Competition, has strengthened its personnel line-up as it prepares to defend its championship title ahead of the 2014 season.

The Hamilton NZ based team has recruited former Indy Car technician Lou Schollum as Chief Mechanic across its six-car operation.

Schollum has recently returned to New Zealand after a 26-year career in the US working with high profile Indy Car teams such as Pacwest, Team KOOL Green and more recently Andretti Autosports.

With experience and expertise in engines and transmissions, Schollum has been part of winning championships with Indy Car drivers such as J. R. Hildebrand, Dario Franchitti and Dan Wheldon not to mention Indy 500 victories with Franchitti and Wheldon.

Schollum says he’s excited to join M2 Competition and to be part of what he feels will be a strong 2014 championship campaign.

“I’ve always followed the TRS championship, any ex-pat kiwi always likes to know what’s going on back home,” says Schollum.

“Mark Pilcher (Team Principal) runs a very good team, they had a very successful championship last year and were clearly the dominant outfit of the series. However, the more successful you are, the more hard work you have to do to remain successful.”

Schollum says the series provides a great platform for up and coming young drivers to gain further open wheel experience.

“It’s a series that I’d love to see more American drivers come and race in.
It’s a great opportunity for any driver - 5 weeks of very intense racing in the northern hemisphere off season, there is no better preparation really for their own home championships. I’ll be encouraging some of the young American drivers I know to come down and compete.”

“Toyota do an incredible job of running such a successful series, I can’t wait to be a part of it.”

M2 Competition Team Principal Mark Pilcher says, adding someone of Schollum’s calibre to the organization will be of huge benefit to the team.

‘You can’t find proper racing experience like Lou has very often in New Zealand. So when someone like him comes along, you grab him. He has a wealth of experience and knows what is required to run multiple cars at such a high level,” says Pilcher.

Pilcher says the M2 Competition team will endeavour to raise the performance bar further in 2014 to stay ahead of the other teams.

“We won this year because we were organised, had good cars and quick drivers. Next year we will need to be better again and have faster cars. I know the other teams will be lifting their game to catch us, we have to lift ours to stay that extra bit ahead.

Pilcher and Schollum will be joined by M2 Competition co-team principal Jonathan Moury who is also an engineer with BMW in the DTM.
Also joining the team will be successful open wheel and sports car racer, Chris van der Drift who acts as an engineer and driver coach for the squad.

Other team personnel imports for the 2014 TRS season include a team of six engineers and three mechanics from Europe all currently working in DTM, GP3, Formula Renault and Formula 3.

M2 Competition plans to announce its 2014-driver line-up in the coming months with drivers from Europe, New Zealand and Australia expecting to compete under the M2 banner.

M2 Competition will compete in the 2014 TRS season with the support of Giltrap Group and Omega Rental Cars. Further announcements will be made in the coming months regarding the driver line-up.

ends

© Scoop Media