By Callum Ludwig
Woori Yallock’s Yarra Valley Sheds have made a leap from the garage at the end of the driveway to the garages of Bathurst and Sandown by sponsoring Strong Motorsport and Auddino Racing.
Just this month, Director of Yarra Valley Sheds Ryan Tupek was on the tools helping both Brendan Strong and Tony Auddino at the V8 Touring Car Super3 Series at Sandown.
Mr Tupek said he loves motorsports and the main incentive has also been helping out a small team.
“I like being able to help them try and get on the grid each and every race if we can, they’re genuine people, just small family teams that that battle through,” he said.
“Getting our name on a racecar at the end of the day is another big incentive, we love racing and just want to be involved in it.”
Both Brendan Strong and Tony Auddino only managed a not-classified finish in Race 1 at Sandown, before recovering in Race 2 to finish fifth and seventh respectively.
Mr Tupek said going to Bathurst in the past was the no-brainer in terms of his best experiences in motorsport.
“To get out on the track with the team and have our name on the car that races around Bathurst is a huge thing for us. Having the team take the time and explain things to us that the average person doesn’t realise: the heartbreaks, the finances, the timeand effort that these guys have to put into it before and after was amazing,” he said.
“I love understanding that side of things as well as sitting down with their motor engineers, their technical engineers and so forth and and just watching all the stuff that actually goes into building a racecar, it’s great.”
Brendan Strong and Tony Auddino are next heading back to Bathurst for their next races from October 6 to October 9 this year.
Mr Tupek said the best thing about smaller teams is they have time for the general public.
“They’re so small and tiny in comparison to a lot of teams and have to put in so much more effort but when the general public comes around and has a look, the number of people that come and stop by and they pop bonnets for is amazing,” he said.
“They make time to explain everything to the general public and you can just see they get to be so much more involved in motorsport than what they do in the top categories, you’d never get to look around in a garage there.”
Brendan Strong drives a Holden Commodore and is car number 75, while Tony Auddino drives Ford BF Falcon and is car number 4.
Mr Tupek said he looks forward to continuing to be involved with the teams.
“They both want to be involved next year, but it all comes down to money at the end of the day, because they’ve got to buy new cars. Brendan’s car will still be okay next year but will be one of the oldest on the field and will find it hard to compete,” he said.
“I’ll definitely be at each and every race, representing our business and making sure the cars are clean and tidy. I think sponsorship of a motorsport team, especially local teams, can really be a benefit to a small business. I think it helps us stand out a little bit, and if you’re gonna put your time and effort into sponsoring somebody, try and keep it in the small categories to help the motorsport stay alive.”
