As the V8 Supercars prepare to bring the ‘greatest show on wheels’ to the people of Townsville, Colin Sieders is preparing to bring the people of Townsville to the V8 Supercars when he returns to the driver’s seat next month.

The 28 year old from Penrith, has been inspired by an increased usage of the feeder category by V8 Supercar Championship teams and will contest Round 4 of the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Development Series in the ‘City of Townsville’ Falcon, 9-11th July.

“I’m really excited about getting back behind the wheel,” said Sieders, “the Development Series is becoming more and more competitive, with more and more Main Game teams and drivers getting involved”.

“The Townsville track looks unreal, and with the likes of Cameron McConville, Paul Morris and a quite a few ‘Enduro’ drivers in the Development Series, it’s going to be a bit of a buzz to mix it with them on the racetrack.”

Holding the distinction as the only disabled V8 Supercar Driver in any series, Colin  was forced to withdraw from making his Bathurst 1000 debut with younger brother David Sieders last year due to medical reasons, and Townsville will be his first race since October 2009.

“I’ve really been itching to get back into the car since my last race in the Development Series at Bathurst,” said Sieders, “missing out on racing the Bathurst 1000 last year was really disappointing, but I’ve been working hard on my fitness in preparation for my return, and I’m hoping to get some strong results”.

Modelled on the team’s successful campaign of the ‘City of Wagga Wagga’ Falcon in last year’s Development Series Grand Finale, Sieders has secured support from a number of Townsville businesses for his racing return.

“With the City of Wagga Wagga really getting behind Hayden Pullen’s last year, we thought we’d look into running a similar concept in Townsville for myself,” said Sieders, “we’ve had great interest and support from the businesses up there already, and I’ll be meeting with a few more when I get there”.

“My special thanks go to Zinc 100.3 FM, Townsville RSL, Townsville Chamber of Commerce, Advantage Signs, Business  Technology Centre, Coolabah Motel Townsville, Get Branded, JR Air Conditioning, Snap on Tools Townsville, Sunferries, Tec-NQ, and Tyre Power Townsville who have already signed up to build community support for the event.”

With the majority of the Sieders Racing equipment not returning from their entry in the Yokohama V8 Ute Series at Darwin just over a week ago, Colin has spent the past few weeks preparing his car, loading all the remaining equipment and driving to the round himself.

“It’s definitely a unique position to be in, and a bit of old school privateering,” said Sieders, “a few drivers may work on their cars between rounds themselves, but I don’t think there would be many who would be loading and transporting their own car to Townsville, racing, and then loading and driving it back again, but I love it”.

Sieders will arrive on Wednesday 30th June for a promotional week of appearances where people will have a chance to not only get up close and personal with the Supercar and team, but to also sign their name or message of support directly onto the car.

“The whole concept we are running is all about giving the community a specific focal point for this massive event,” said Sieders, “but we’re not just giving them a specific car to barrack for, we want to put the people on the track”.

Round 4 of the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Development Series gets underway on the streets of Townsville with Practice on Friday 9th July, Qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday, and two races on Sunday.

CITY OF TOWNSVILLE FALCON, PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY: