Tasman Motorsport prepares to shut shop

Following last weekend's final round of the V8 season at Sydney's Olympic precinct, Tasman Motorsport, competing as Sprint Gas Racing, will officially close on Friday, December 18.

Jason Bargwanna has signed with his new team Kelly Racing and four-time Bathurst winner Greg Murphy will announce his 2010 plans in coming days.

The majority of Tasman Motorsport's 20 strong staff members have secured new jobs at other teams or moved out of the sport, while several will stay on as part of the expansion of Greg Murphy Racing.

Highlights over the past six years include two podiums at Bathurst - second in 2005 and 2008, the team's first ever podium at Sandown in 2005, third at Indy in 2007, the race win at Winton in 2006 and Jason Bargwanna's pole in race three at this year's SuperGP on the streets of the Gold Coast.

"Obviously there has been an incredible amount of work and effort put into the team over its life and it is with sadness that Tasman Motorsport will close," Greg Murphy said.

"The team has had some highlights, most of them coming at Bathurst, which is a little ironic considering Bathurst is the toughest race of the year, but it proves the team had a lot of the components required to be competitive."

Having two Tasman Motorsport built Sprint Gas Holdens on track in 2008 the team was working towards its goal of consistent top 10 results in 2010. Recent performances suggest that the team was well on the way to achieving this.

"Last year we essentially started from scratch," Kevin Murphy said. "Bringing everything in-house was a big task, but one that we expected to start paying dividends next year.

"Our recent run of results shows that we were well on track. The back half of the season in particular showed everyone, thanks to many top 10 results, that we could be very competitive.

"Closing down was not something that we were considering but the offers for our licences after the Gold Coast event were too good to say no to."

Greg Murphy thanks everyone linked to the team: "I would like to sincerely thank all the people that have supported the team and me over the last three years, we have enjoyed the relationships and appreciate the belief everyone had in the team," Murphy said.

"To all the people who have worked so tirelessly week in week out to get the team to all the races - thank you!

"You should all be proud of your effort and the fact that you all kept putting in that effort right through until the end.

"Sydney was a fantastic weekend for the team, showing that we never gave up. To finish an era showing we had a car that could have and should have been on the podium is a testament to great work ethics and determination."

Tasman Motorsport would like to thank its staff and drivers, all of its sponsors and the media for their support over the last six years.