Harrop joins Tasman Motorsport.

Tasman Inner Circle Rum Motorsport has announced that Ron Harrop, the principal of Harrop Engineering, has joined the team and will take an equity position in its ownership.

Harrop Engineering provides high-performance brakes, suspension and other cutting-edge components to many leading teams in the V8 Supercar Championship Series, and Harrop himself is one of Australian motorsport's most respected and highly sought-after innovators.

Team part-owner Kevin Murphy said it was the right time to form an association with one of the largest and most successful racing component suppliers in Australia as the team looks towards a entering a front-running two-car team in 2005

"This is a definite vote of confidence in the team structure we have in place, and the potential this team has for the future," he said. "Ron has been successful in everything he has done and Harrop Engineering has an unmatched reputation in Australia for performance and technical innovation.

"He has worked in and around this category for around 35 years and has had significant input into many of the most historically successful teams. He will work closely with our Chief Engineer, Wally Storey, to fully develop the potential of our cars and help us to take the next step to becoming a category front runner."

Harrop said he had a desire to resume direct involvement in a racing team, and after approaches from several teams chose Tasman Motorsport as the best fit for his company.

"I certainly share the vision they have and see this as an excellent fit for us," he said. "They need engineering expertise and we can certainly offer that.

"I already have in mind some specific things to look at, and I feel sure we can put some things in place in the short term that will build a long-term competitive foundation."

Storey said he was looking forward to working alongside Harrop and making the most of the facilities Harrop Engineering offers.

"History speaks for itself, doesn't it," he said. "Everyone working in this category knows what Ron and his business bring to any racing team, and the potential to use his facility to innovate is tremendous."

At the end of the 2004 season, the team will bid farewell to its home city of Sydney to base itself from the impressive Harrop Engineering facility in the Melbourne suburb of Preston.

"It'll be a sad day for this team to leave Sydney where it was based for so many years as the Lansvale Racing Team," Murphy said. "But Melbourne is the home of Holden and the mecca of motorsport in this country, so there's some very strategic advantages in the move south.

"One of the most important of those is Ron's facility, which contains a race workshop we believe will be ideally suited to the profile and aspirations of the team we are building. Harrop Engineering also has the ability to fabricate on the premises many of the components we use in V8 Supercars, which surely gives us a strategic advantage."

Murphy said the Sydney-based crew had been informed of the decision and that Tasman Motorsport was doing everything it could to retain its existing staff.

"We have a great crew this year, and therefore, want to minimise any disruption," he said. "We hope they'll come with us to kick off a very exciting new phase in this team's continuing evolution."