Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport hits 100

While many of the headlines surrounding Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport heading into the 2017 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship revolved around CAMS Superlicences, rookie drivers and who would race its #3 Holden in Adelaide, the Melbourne-based team has plenty to celebrate this weekend.

Not only is the LDM squad the reigning Clipsal 500 winner given Nick Percat’s victory in the saturated Sunday race of 2016, the team is also celebrating its 100th championship event at this year’s Adelaide classic.

The team made its debut in the 2010 season opener at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi with a single, ex-Walkinshaw Racing Commodore driven by Kiwi Daniel Gaunt and backed by Gulf Western Oil.

It expanded to a two-car operation coinciding with the arrival of New Generation cars in 2013 though wound back to a single car for 2014 prior to returning to a two-car operation in 2015, a size it has retained ever since.

The sheer number of LDM drivers over the last seven years has actually been very high, so we’ve picked seven you’ll remember and the seven you may not to mark the team’s 100th round milestone.

LDM’s 7 YOU SHOULD REMEMBER …

Russell Ingall

‘The Enforcer’ raced on in 2014 when most thought he’d retired after finishing up with Supercheap Auto Racing. Running as part of a single car operation he hit the headlines at Winton for serving up officials post-race when penalised for a punt on David Wall that took away a likely podium finish. Was competitive on plenty of occasions during that season, scoring a best finish of fourth.

Scott Pye

Made his VASC debut as Taz Douglas’ co-driver in the 2012 Sandown 500 in LDM #30 Commodore and joined LDM full-time in 2013. Had a generally miserable season that included a huge crash at Symmons Plains (brake failure) and a wild ride at Barbagallo but solid sixth place at Bathurst with Paul Morris co-driving was a clear highlight.

Nick Percat

Forever sits as LDM’s first Supercars race winner given his win on Sunday in last year’s Clipsal 500 in Adelaide. Spent 2015 and 2016 seasons with the team, a long-time friend of team owner Dumbrell and former Formula Ford teammates during their stint at Sonic Motor Racing. Grew and developed during his time with LDM, aided largely by 2015 endurance co-driver Oliver Gavin who followed Percat across from Walkinshaw Racing. His time at LDM has vaulted him now into a solid seat with Brad Jones Racing.

Warren Luff

Joined LDM for a few rounds at the very end of 2010 off the back of sharing James Courtney’s Jim Beam Falcon in the endurance races that ultimately helped Courtney claim the championship. Ran full-time for LDM in 2011 with very limited highlights and has since been an endurance race winner for Triple Eight and Walkinshaw Racing.

Taz Douglas

The reigning Kumho V8 Touring Car Series Champion had spent plenty of time in the Dunlop Super2 Series prior to making the step up to the ‘main game’ in 2012 with LDM. He ran a single season for the team in an iSelect-backed Commodore before becoming an enduro pilot for Nissan for some years. He returns for LDM’s 100th this weekend after a late call-up to drive its #3 entry.

Tim Blanchard

Like Percat, another contemporary of team boss Dumbrell from their time spent racing Formula Ford. Joined LDM for the 2014 enduros as Russell Ingall’s co-driver and ran #3 car full-time as Percat’s team-mate in 2015. Moved to Brad Jones Racing for 2016 and acquired a Racing Entitlements Contract under which BJR’s #21 entry will run this year.

Cameron McConville

Made LDM debut in a one-off situation replacing Daniel Gaunt way back in 2010 in Townsville. Re-joined team last year for the endurance races as Nick Percat’s co-driver and starred, despite not racing a Supercar in four years. His sixth career Bathurst 1000 podium finish last October was proof being the other side of 40 doesn’t mean a thing.

LDM’s 7 FROM THE FILES …

Jack Perkins

Made a one-off appearance in LDM’s #222 car at the Sydney 500 at the end of 2015 filling in for the ill Nick Percat. He was excluded post-race from the Sunday 250-kilometre race for his car’s tyre pressures falling below the minimum mandated by Supercars.

Scott Pruett

The American racing legend won the Gold Coast Indy race back in 1997 but had a much less enjoyable time in 2010 when he co-drove LDM’s Gulf Western Oil Commodore with Nathan Pretty in the inaugural GC600. The duo failed to finish either 300-kilometre race.

Paul Morris

Co-drove with Scott Pye in the 2013 endurance races. Finished a very solid sixth place at Bathurst that year from 22nd on the grid. It proved to be there veteran's penultimate Bathurst 1000 start, calling it quits after winning the race with Prodrive the following year.

Mark Noske

The former Holden Young Lion had driven with Tasman Motorsport in the 2009 endurance races and ended up with a deal to share LDM’s Commodore with Nathan Pretty in the 2010 enduros. They finished 17th at Bathurst, the final race in Noske’s Supercars career.

Paul Dumbrell

Lucas’ older brother was an emergency substitute for the ill Nick Percat at Phillip Island in November 2015. He’d previously driven a LDM Commodore though, taking Lucas for a hot lap of Bathurst in a specially organised run back in 2010.

Marino Franchitti

The younger brother of multiple Indy 500 winner Dario, Marino was LDM’s international co-driver for the 2011 Gold Coast 600 event alongside Warren Luff. As per the previous GC600, the team’s #30 Commodore failed to finish either race.

Oliver Gavin

Corvette GT gun who brought huge amounts of international experience to LDM during his time as Nick Percat’s co-driver in the 2015 endurance season.