Like the series returning in his native country, Russell Ingall will be back in a Stadium Super Truck in 2019. With a week before the trucks run the Gold Coast 600 weekend at Surfers Paradise, the 2005 Supercars champion has confirmed his intention to participate.
“Guess what? We’re back,” Ingall said during his show Enforcer and The Dude, hosted alongside 2017 SST champion Paul Morris. “Tony Longhurst, actually, has stocked up a few bucks for me to make the field, so thanks to Boat Works and Tony Longhurst. I might even run his number (25) too.
“[…] I ran Sydney (Motorsport Park) a year ago, just when the little debacle happened between all the governing bodies. Luckily, that’s all since got it back on because I know this is a crowd favourite. Stadium Super Trucks, that’s gonna be good, good to see Robby Gordon again too. And it’s gonna be a blast.”
Ingall made his SST début at Sydney in October 2018 in the series’ most recent race in Australia. Raced as part of the Australian Motor Sport Alliance, he finished seventh and fifth in the weekend’s races.
The debacle mentioned by Ingall refers to the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport‘s controversial ban on the trucks for safety reasons after a May 2018 race at Barbagallo Raceway in Perth. The restriction was finally lifted last August, enabling the series to return in full force as the Boost Mobile Super Trucks. The trucks joined the Gold Coast 600 card a week later.
“(Gordon) doesn’t have to deal with CAMS now,” Morris quipped, alluding to the league’s rebranding as Motorsport Australia in 2020. “We’ll tell him there’s a new sanctioning body, we got rid of them for you.”
In addition to Ingall, Morris is slated for his SST return at the Gold Coast weekend; like his co-host, Morris’ latest truck start was Sydney, where he finished sixth and second. Paul Morris Motorsport and it’s Norwell Motorplex oversee and house the trucks’ Australian operations.
Other faces scheduled to appear at the 600 include NASCAR veteran Greg Biffle, Dakar Rally champion Toby Price, and Australian Racing Cars driver Matt Nolan. Price and Nolan, both Australians, will run their first races of the year, while Biffle will be gunning for his fourth podium finish in as many weekend and more.
“We’re gonna team up, we’re gonna get a podium Dude,” Ingall remarked. “So you’re gonna help me out, we’re gonna work together. Get her up front.”
“But don’t manipulate the results,” Morris answered.
On Twitter, Ingall posted:
The Vodafone Gold Coast 600 is scheduled for 25–27 October. SST races in Oceania have already been confirmed for 2020 at the Adelaide 500 and Pukehoke Raceway in New Zealand.
