Team Principal | Mark Larkham |
---|---|
Debut | 1995 |
Final Season | 2005 |
Round wins | 0 |
Pole positions | 1 |
2005 position | 13th (1,567 points) |
Larkham Motor Sport was a motorsport team contesting the V8 Supercar Championship between 1995 and 2005.
Larkham Motor Sport was formed in 1990 with the intent of furthering Mark Larkham's career after he won the 1989 Australian Formula Ford Championship. After originally running a Ford EA Falcon in the Australian Production Car Championship with little success, Larkham returned to open wheelers and purchased a Ralt RT20 Formula Holden to run in the 1991 Australian Drivers' Championship. Finishing third he created a rivalry with series champion Mark Skaife which would continue for much of the next decade. For 1992 a relaxation in the rules governing what Formula Holden cars could be built from saw Larkham be the first to import a carbon-fibre constructed racing car to Australia in a Reynard 90D. Using this car Larkham would spend the next two seasons as runner-up to Skaife. After the 1993 season Larkham sold his car and spent 18 months planning his return to racing.
With support from Mitre 10, Ford and Yokohama, Larkham entered V8 Supercars with a Ford Falcon EF debuting at round 3 of the 1995 Australian Touring Car Championship. Rather than purchasing a car from a larger team, the team elected to build its own car. The design was quite different from other cars of the era, with some open-wheel style thinking incorporated into its design. Although ultimately unsuccessful, the concept would later be adopted by other teams.