News

F3 Champion Graduates to S5000

October 24, 2022

2022 Australian Formula 3 Champion Noah Sands will make his S5000 debut with Garry Rogers Motorsport in the 2022 Tasman Series with backing from Valvoline.

GRM have swooped on Sands as he joins a storied list of young drivers to race under the guidance of Garry and Barry Rogers. Jamie Whincup, Scott McLaughlin and Garth Tander are just some of the incredible talents who got a start at the famous family team.

Sands has enjoyed a scintillating start to his racing career. After taking leading rookie honours and second overall in the 2021 Australian Formula Ford Championship, Sands moved up and claimed the championship in his maiden Formula 3 season. His stunning campaign in Australian Formula 3 has seen Sands claim 10 wins from the first 15 races, wrapping up the Championship with two rounds to spare.

Sands drove an S5000 for the first time at the evaluation day in September after being chosen as a driver for GRM’s 2023 Valvoline Combine, part of the team’s commitment to developing young talent. The impressive performance at the evaluation day persuaded Barry to put Sands straight into the action with the 2022 S5000 Tasman Series.

The announcement of Sands in the Valvoline #65 sees him join Nathan Herne and Jordan Boys at GRM for the opening round of the Tasman Series, on the Gold Coast from October 28-30.

Quotes
Barry Rogers
“Although he is just 18 years old, Noah’s experience in Formula Ford and Formula 3 saw him take like a duck to water behind the wheel of an S5000.

“We were very keen to give Noah a go and through the support of Valvoline and our combined young driver program, Noah will debut in a GRM Valvoline S5000 on the Gold Coast.

“This continues a long line of drivers starting with Marcos Ambrose who were supported by the Valvoline GRM young driver program.”

Noah Sands
“This feels like a natural progression and a strong pathway for me, to go from Formula Ford and into Formula 3 before stepping in to the extremely powerful S5000 cars.

“I love the power that these cars have and I was surprised with how well the cars handled, they’re well balanced. Compared to what I’m used to the power level is pretty incredible and it’s awesome hearing that V8 as well.

“It is great to have the opportunity, Garry has given lots of young drivers a chance and it’s really cool that they’ve given me a chance as well. It will be awesome to learn and pull from the massive amount of knowledge the team has.

“I’m just excited to be here and have this opportunity. I’ve dreamt of racing on the Gold Coast and at Adelaide, I really just want to enjoy the moment. I’ll follow all the processes and see what comes.”