Schuppan farewells Drewer to USA.

Le Mans winner Vern Schuppan has farewelled Tom Drewer just prior to his departure to the USA where he will compete in the 2008 American LeMans Series’ IMSA Lites.

‘Having Vern (Schuppan) wish me the best and give me some advice on both racing and living in the USA was the best possible farewell I could have had’, Drewer said after the two came down to the Clipsal 500 Adelaide circuit and looked over the WEST race car that took the young South Australian driver to victory in the 2007 Australian Thundersports Championship.

‘Vern is an absolute hero of mine and given what he achieved in sports cars with his Le Mans victory, his third place at Indy and his Formula 1 drives I can’t think of a better guy to give me a few tips on what it takes to succeed at an international level’, Drewer added.

‘Vern talked about his karting days here in South Australia and what sort of attitude it takes to succeed in the American racing scene. His best pieces of advice were to work extremely hard, be totally focussed, and not to worry about the other drivers. He said “I never used to worry about them because I knew I would pass them”.

Drewer flew out of Adelaide heading for Atlanta, Georgia where he is making his American base to be near the PVM team that he is contracted to drive with for the entire IMSA Lites Championship that is run in conjunction with the American Le Mans Series.

‘My new WEST ‘tunnel’ car is due to be delivered from the factory in Portland to the team in Atlanta at about the same time as I arrive, so I will be off the ground and running as soon as I arrive. We have to do a seat fitting and also the team is installing a special dry sump system and an upgraded electronic paddle shift gear selector system that they tell me gives you a bit of an advantage.

The aim is to shake the car down in Atlanta prior to heading for the official IMSA test session to be held at Sebring in Florida at the end of January’.

Drewer said he would also have to “acclimatise” to the high down force aerodynamics of the new model WEST.

‘I have been told the aero package alone is worth a few seconds a lap as compared to the car I have been driving in Australia, and the tyres are also meant to provide more grip, so it should be quite a ride’.

Drewer’s USA race debut is at Sebring on March 13/14.