Image to debut local youngster Molluso at Sandown

Image Racing have announced that they will be running a third car at the upcoming Dunlop Series round in Sandown for young Melburnian Antonio Molluso.

Molluso will be driving a Ford Falcon FG in what will be a four-car Super3 field at Sandown, in what will be the only Project Blueprint-spec car in the Dunlop Series field.

Molluso stepped out of karts into the well-worn path of Hyundai Excel racing, before making a couple of appearances in the V8 Touring Car Series for Blueprint era cars last year.

Molluso impressed in his two round starts with Image at Phillip Island and Sandown, including a second place finish at Sandown.

Image Racing team owner Terry Wyhoon saw enough in those two rounds to hand Molluso a chance on the Supercars undercard at the upcoming Penrite Oil Sandown 500.

“He started with us last year, did a couple of Kumho [V8 Touring Car] rounds, one at Phillip Island, one at Sandown in an FG,” Wyhoon told Supercars.com.

“He started in karting then did the Excel series, he’s a ripper young kid.

“Only did the two rounds with us last year but his goal has always been to do a Supercar round, and I said to him that he’s already done Sandown once.

Molluso will get a chance to re-familiarise himself with Sandown in a Supercar, running this weekend at state level in a sister Ford Falcon FG to the one he’ll run in Super3.

“We’ve got a similar car that we’re going to run for him this weekend in Victorian Sports Sedans, and then three weeks later we’ll go and have a crack at Super3.

“It’ll be the only Project Blueprint car in the field, but Sandown is a place where those cars always went well, I don’t think he’ll be too far behind them, so it’ll be interesting.”

Molluso has been working behind the scenes to give himself every chance of mixing it with those in newer machinery, and has impressed Wyhoon with his attitude.

“He’s eager like most kids. He’s done a day or two at Norwell, this is a box he wants to tick off, and good on him.

“When he drove for us last year he never hurt anything, he never damaged the car, he followed instructions, he got better and better as the weekends went on.

“That’s all we can ask, and he’s quite excited about it.”

Molluso’s debut will be the first of back-to-back rounds where Image will run a debutant in Super3, following the recent announcement that Bailey Sweeny will make his debut in a VF Commodore at Bathurst.

Wyhoon’s close links with Erebus Motorsport CEO Barry Ryan has seen the team blood Erebus Academy drivers Jobe Stewart and Jarrod Hughes in Super2 this year, with Sweeny a fellow Erebus Academy driver.

“Yeah absolutely, I work closely with Barry Ryan [Erebus Motorsport CEO], and he’s an advocate of trying to give these kids an opportunity,” said Wyhoon.

“I know how hard it is having done it myself when I was trying to do it, and if someone doesn’t put up their hand and offer them a car at the right price, they’re just never going to get the opportunity.

“That’s what we do, and hopefully every now and then we can trip over someone that will go on and be the next Shane van Gisbergen.”

The addition of an FG Falcon to the Dunlop Series field is befitting of the historic Sandown circuit, and will be the first Project Blueprint car run since Jim Pollicina ran a VE Commodore in Newcastle last year.

Wyhoon said that although the FG Falcon was the online available car for the weekend, Molluso was more than happy to make his Dunlop Series debut in a familiar car.

“To be honest, it’s the only car I’ve got available, because we’ve got the other VF Commodore we’ve got running, I’ve hired that off to another young fella (Tony Auddino).

“The two Super2 cars are obviously gone with Jarrod [Hughes] and Jobe Stewart, and he said that if the Falcon was eligible, he knew the car, he knows us, he’d be more comfortable if he could run the FG with us.

“There’s no expectations, there’s no pressure on him. He just wants to go have some fun, learn the track again, and see where he ends up.”

Round 4 of the 2024 Dunlop Series supports the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 from September 13-15, tickets for the 60th anniversary Sandown enduro are on sale here through the Supercars.com website.