MOTORSPORT: Team Sydney sold
New owner for under-performing Supercars team Tekno AutosportsThe woeful Team Sydney squad that struggled for success and relevance through the 2021 Supercars championship season has been sold.
After months of speculation about a change of ownership, with cashed-up Boost Mobile boss Peter Adderton considered the front-runner after talking big about his potential plans for Team Sydney, the new owner of Tekno Autosports is Sydney businessman Peter Xiberras.
He has been a sponsor of the Sydney-based Supercars squad through his business, PremiAir, and is a championship-level drag racer who drives in the elite Top Fuel category.
Team Sydney only managed 11th place in last year’s Supercars series, the worst of the two-car teams, despite having highly-rated Fabian Coulthard as one of its drivers.
Xiberras says everything about his new team is open, from drivers and engineers to the location of the race base, which is likely to move to Melbourne or return to Tekno’s original home in Queensland.
“It’s a blank sheet. I have got to find a lot of people to fill in those blanks,” Xiberras told carsales.
“I do love the idea of Team Sydney. I would love to make it work one day.”
On the personnel front, Xiberras is planning a major recruitment campaign.
“I’m looking for the right team manager, the right engineers and right mechanics,” he said. “For drivers, we have four options on the table right at the moment and we’re looking for the right options. No-one has a guaranteed slot for next year.”
The Tekno sale follows the change of ownership at Supercars in the final quarter of last year, which guaranteed a $1 million sale price for each of the Teams Racing Charters required to compete in the touring car category.
But Xiberras already had a foothold in the Tekno operation as he owned one of the team’s ZB Commodore racers.
Outgoing team owner Jono Webb, who won the Bathurst 1000 in 2016 with Will Davison in one of his cars, has signed-off on behalf of himself and his wife and business partner Kobe.
“Kobe and I are grateful that Peter Xiberras and PremiAir Hire will continue to build Team Sydney within the Supercars Championship. We are thankful for the support and friendships we have welcomed over the past 12 years of racing,” he said.
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