» V8s: Only one seat left for the GC600

The Tekno Autosports team has become the penultimate team to finalise its driver line-up for next month’s ArmorAll Gold Coast 600 round of the V8 Supercars championship, which pairs the series’ regular drivers with a guest line-up of ‘international class’ drivers.

The two-car team, run by owner/driver Jonathon Webb, has secured the services of Porsche GT veteran Marc Lieb and former Formula 1 racer and Pirelli test driver Lucas di Grassi for the pair of 300-kilometre races around the streets of Surfers Paradise.

Former Virgin Racing F1 driver di Grassi had been signed to drive at last year’s event with Webb, but had to pull out at the eleventh hour; his seat was taken by former IndyCar champion Gil de Ferran.

This year, di Grassi will team up with Webb’s team-mate Michael Patrizi, marking the maiden appearance at Surfers Paradise for the pair of them.

“It is an awesome opportunity to partner a highly credentialed driver such as Lucas,” said Patrizi.

“I’m looking forward to racing in the Gold Coast 600 for the first time, having Lucas alongside me will ensure we have a good chance at racing towards the pointy end [of the field].”

For Lieb, this will be his second appearance at Surfers Paradise, having acted as the co-driver last year for Alex Davison’s IRWIN Tools entry, run by Stone Brothers Racing (pictured).

“Marc Lieb is an ideal partner for the Gold Coast 600 endurance event, he was consistently fast in 2011, and has had great successes in endurance racing,” adds Webb.

“He is the right man for the job.”

Today’s announcement means that Team HIFLEX (Tony D’Alberto Racing) has the sole remaining seat up for grabs.

The provisional entry list reads as follows:

2012 V8 Supercars ArmorAll Gold Coast 600 Provisional Entry List:

	Entry / Team	Driver	Co-Driver
1.	Team Vodafone / Triple 8 Racing	Jamie Whincup	Sébastien Bourdais
2.	TOLL / Holden Racing Team	Garth Tander	Ryan Briscoe
3.	HIFLEX Racing / Tony D’Alberto Racing	Tony D’Alberto	TBA
4.	Irwin Racing / Stone Brothers Racing	Lee Holdsworth	Simon Pagenaud
5.	Orrcon Steel / Ford Performance Racing	Mark Winterbottom	Will Power
6.	Trading Post / Ford Performance Racing	Will Davison	Mika Salo
7.	Jack Daniel’s / Kelly Racing	Todd Kelly	Marco Andretti
8.	Team BOC / Brad Jones Racing	Jason Bright	Stephane Sarrazin
9.	SP Tools / Stone Brothers Racing	Shane van Gisbergen	Jeroen Bleekemolen
11.	Fair Dinkum Sheds / Kelly Racing	Karl Reindler	Franck Montagny
12.	Jim Beam Racing / Dick Johnson Racing	Dean Fiore	Gianni Morbidelli
14.	Lockwood Racing / Brad Jones Racing	Fabian Coulthard	Nicolas Minassian
15.	Jack Daniel’s / Kelly Racing	Rick Kelly	Graham Rahal
17.	Jim Beam Racing / Dick Johnson Racing	Steven Johnson	Max Papis
18.	Team Norton / Dick Johnson Racing	James Moffat	Peter Kox
19.	Tekno Autosports	Jonathon Webb	Marc Lieb
21.	Wilson Security / Brad Jones Racing	David Wall	J. Campbell-Walter
22.	TOLL / Holden Racing Team	James Courtney	Darren Turner
30.	Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport	Taz Douglas	Mike Conway
33.	Fujitsu Racing / Garry Rogers Motorsport	Alexandre Prémat	James Hinchcliffe?
34.	Fujitsu Racing / Garry Rogers Motorsport	Michael Caruso	Ricky Taylor?
47.	Lucky 7 Racing / Stone Brothers Racing	Tim Slade	David Brabham
49.	VIP Petfoods / Dick Johnson Racing	Steve Owen	Boris Said
51.	Pepsi Max Crew / Kelly Racing	Greg Murphy	Justin Wilson
55.	The Bottle-O Racing Team / Rod Nash	David Reynolds	Nick Heidfeld
66.	Supercheap Auto / Walkinshaw Racing	Russell Ingall	Peter Dumbreck
91.	Tekno Autosports	Michael Patrizi	Lucas di Grassi
888.	Team Vodafone / Triple 8 Racing	Craig Lowndes	Richard Lyons