Tomas Mezera

Tomas Mezera (born 5 November 1958 in Czechoslovakia) is a naturalised Australian racing driver. Mezera won the 1988 Bathurst 1000, and for many years was a member of the Holden Racing Team as both a driver and team manager. Mezera's sporting career began as a downhill skier in his native Czechoslovakia, before he emigrated to Australia to be a ski instructor. Mezera retired from racing in 2004 but continues to hold roles in motorsport, most recently as a driving standards advisor to several domestic motor racing championships.

Personal life Born in 1958 in communist Czechoslovakia, Mezera was a skilled tennis player and skier in his youth – qualifying for and placing in national level ski events under the tutelage of his father, a ski coach in his own right. Mezera had an interest in motor racing at a young age and took part in amateur hillclimbs in the family Škoda. Mezera took up a Physics course at university after leaving school and joined their ski team, escaping to Hungary during an event and defecting to Austria via Belgrade. Having spent the second half of 1979 in a refugee camp outside Vienna, he arrived in Sydney prior to Christmas where he moved in with relatives. To make his start in racing, he worked as a garbage man, a panelbeater and a restaurant hand in Kings Cross.

Formula racing Mezera quickly was introduced to racing and joined the ranks of Formula Ford in 1982. In November 1983, he was offered a drive for the 1984 FF season in a Reynard FF83, after being spotted by David Haydon of Dalcar Industries. Mezera finished fifth in the 1984 Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series, and won the 1985 Motorcraft Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series driving the Dalcar Reynard FF83 prepared by motorsport enthusiast and team owner David Haydon (with engines supplied by the Frank Gardner run JPS Team BMW). In 1987, he returned to Europe and the British Formula Ford Championship, finishing second. He had two poor years in British Formula 3 compromised by lack of budget. He found work as driving instructor to stay in Europe with hopes of reaching his goal as a professional in Europe.

Touring / Sports Cars During 1988 while working as a driving instructor in England, Mezera was able to secure much needed parts for the Ford Sierra RS500 Group A touring car team run by Frank Gardner and Tony Longhurst. As it was Gardner's protest at Bathurst in 1987 that had led to the disqualification of Ford Europe supported Eggenberger Motorsport Sierras and caused them to lose the 1987 World Touring Car Championship to BMW, Ford did not want to supply parts to Tony Longhurst Racing team manager Gardner, and Mezera was asked to buy the needed parts for the team. As a reward Mezera was given the job of Longhurst's co-driver for the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 races.

The pair won the 1988 Tooheys 1000 in their Benson & Hedges backed Ford Sierra RS500, with Mezera driving the car across the finish line. He then returned to Europe to continue his pursuit of racing professionally overseas, returning to Australia for the endurance season, racing for Perkins Engineering from 1989 until 1991. He finished third with Larry Perkins in the 1990 Bathurst 1000, and the pair won the 1990 Nissan Sydney 500 at Eastern Creek Raceway.

This led to racing a Porsche 962 for fellow Aussie Vern Schuppan in the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship and a drive in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1990 finishing 15th with co-drivers Eje Elgh and Thomas Danielsson. He had five races in the British Touring car Championship in 1989 and 1990 with two podium finishes.

When Win Percy returned to England after the 1991 season, Mezera was hired to drive for the Holden Racing Team. He was briefly assumed the role of team manager in 1993 after the departure of Neal Lowe until Jeff Grech was recruited.

Mezera was the first pole sitter when the ATCC became V8 Supercars in 1993 at Sydney's tight Amaroo Park circuit. He continued to race for HRT as teammate to Peter Brock until the end of the 1995 season before being replaced by Craig Lowndes. He was briefly part of John Trimbole's Daily Planet Racing before starting his own team in 1998 with the help of Derek van Zelm and on limited budget ran in the V8 Supercars Championship from 1998 until 2001. His full-time racing career wound down at that point although he continued to get drives as a hired gun for many teams.

In 2001, Mezera made a return to the Holden Racing Team as an endurance driver and finished third in the 2002 Bathurst 1000 and fourth at the 2002 Queensland 500.

Mezera retired from racing in 2004 and later served as a Driving Standards Official for Confederation of Australian Motor Sport and V8 Supercars Australia.

Career results

Season Series Position Car Team 1982 TAA Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series 19th Carlboro – Ford Tomas Mezera Motorsport 1984 Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series 5th Reynard FF84 – Ford Dalcar Racing – David Haydon Motorsport 1985 Motorcraft Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series 1st Reynard FF83 – Ford Elwyn 003 – Ford Dalcar Racing – David Haydon Motorsport 1987 British Formula Ford Championship 2nd Van Diemen RF97 Ford Van Diemen 1988 British Formula 3 Championship 12th Reynard 873 – Volkswagen Peter Lea Racing Asia Pacific Touring Car Championship 7th Ford Sierra RS500 Benson & Hedges Racing 1989 British Touring Car Championship 42nd Ford Sierra RS500 Team Labatt's 1990 Australian Endurance Championship 2nd Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV Perkins Engineering All Japan Sports Prototype Championship 18th Porsche 962C Omron Racing Team 1992 Australian Touring Car Championship 16th Holden VN Commodore SS Group A Holden Racing Team 1993 Australian Touring Car Championship 7th Holden VP Commodore Holden Racing Team 1994 Australian Touring Car Championship 9th Holden VP Commodore Holden Racing Team 1995 Australian Touring Car Championship 5th Holden VR Commodore Holden Racing Team 1998 Australian Touring Car Championship 21st Holden VS Commodore Challenge MotorsportGibson Motorsport ATCC Privateers Cup 2nd Holden VS Commodore Challenge Motorsport 1999 Shell Championship Series 45th Holden VT Commodore Tomas Mezera Motorsport 2000 Shell Championship Series 55th Holden VT Commodore Tomas Mezera Motorsport 2001 Shell Championship Series 28th Holden VX Commodore Tomas Mezera MotorsportImrie Motor SportHolden Racing Team 2002 V8 Supercar Championship Series 34th Holden VX Commodore Imrie Motor SportHolden Racing Team 2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series 51st Holden VX Commodore Perkins Engineering 2004 V8 Supercar Championship Series 37th Holden VY Commodore Paul Little Racing

Complete Australian Touring Car Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 DC Points 1992 Holden Racing Team Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV AMAR1 AMAR2 SANR3 SANR4 SYMR5 SYMR6 WINR7 WINR8 LAKR9 LAKR10 EASR11 EASR12 MALR13 MALR14 BARR15 BARR16 ORAR17 ORAR18 16th 29 1993 Holden Racing Team Holden VP Commodore AMAR1 AMAR2 AMAR3 SYMR4 SYMR5 PHIR6 PHIR7 LAKR8 LAKR9 WINR10 WINR11 EASR12 EASR13 MALR14 MALR15 BARR16 BARR17 ORAR18 ORAR19 7th 85 1994 Holden Racing Team Holden VP Commodore AMAR1 AMAR2 SANR3 SANR4 SYMR5 SYMR6 PHIR7 PHIR8 LAKR9 LAKR10 WINR11 WINR12 EASR13 EASR14 MALR15 MALR16 BARR17 BARR18 ORAR19 ORAR20 9th 111 1995 Holden Racing Team Holden VR Commodore SANR1 SANR2 SYMR3 SYMR4 BATR5 BATR6 PHIR7 PHIR8 LAKR9 LAKR10 WINR11 WINR12 EASR13 EASR14 MALR15 MALR16 BARR17 BARR18 ORAR19 ORAR20 5th 163 1998 Challenge Motorsport Holden VS Commodore SANR1 SANR2 SANR3 SYMR4 SYMR5 SYMR6 LAKR7 LAKR8 LAKR9 PHIR10 PHIR11 PHIR12 WINR13 WINR14 WINR15 MALR16 MALR17 MALR18 BARR19 BARR20 BARR21 CALR22 CALR23 CALR24 HDVR25 HDVR26 HDVR27 ORAR28 ORAR29 ORAR30 24th 116 Gibson Motorsport Holden VS Commodore SANR1 SANR2 SANR3 SYMR4 SYMR5 SYMR6 LAKR7 LAKR8 LAKR9 PHIR10 PHIR11 PHIR12 WINR13 WINR14 WINR15 MALR16 MALR17 MALR18 BARR19 BARR20 BARR21 CALR22 CALR23 CALR24 HDVR25 HDVR26 HDVR27 ORAR28 ORAR29 ORAR30 1999 Tomas Mezera Motorsport Holden Commodore (VS) EASR1 EASR2 EASR3 ADER4 BARR5 BARR6 BARR7 PHIR8 PHIR9 PHIR10 HDVR11 HDVR12 HDVR13 SANR14 SANR15 SANR16 QLDR17 QLDR18 QLDR19 CALR20 CALR21 CALR22 SYMR23 SYMR24 SYMR25 WINR26 WINR27 WINR28 ORAR29 ORAR30 ORAR31 QLDR32 BATR33 45th 174 2000 Tomas Mezera Motorsport Holden Commodore (VT) PHIR1 PHIR2 BARR3 BARR4 BARR5 ADER6 ADER7 EASR8 EASR9 EASR10 HDVR11 HDVR12 HDVR13 CANR14 CANR15 CANR16 QLDR17 QLDR18 QLDR19 WINR20 WINR21 WINR22 ORAR23 ORAR24 ORAR25 CALR26 CALR27 CALR28 QLDR29 SANR30 SANR31 SANR32 BATR33 55th 36 Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon (AU) PHIR1 PHIR2 BARR3 BARR4 BARR5 ADER6 ADER7 EASR8 EASR9 EASR10 HDVR11 HDVR12 HDVR13 CANR14 CANR15 CANR16 QLDR17 QLDR18 QLDR19 WINR20 WINR21 WINR22 ORAR23 ORAR24 ORAR25 CALR26 CALR27 CALR28 QLDR29 SANR30 SANR31 SANR32 BATR33 2001 Tomas Mezera Motorsport Holden Commodore (VT) PHIR1 PHIR2 ADER3 ADER4 EASR5 EASR6 HDVR7 HDVR8 HDVR9 CANR10 CANR11 CANR12 BARR13 BARR14 BARR15 CALR16 CALR17 CALR18 ORAR19 ORAR20 QLDR21 WINR22 WINR23 BATR24 PUKR25 PUKR26 PUKR27 SANR28 SANR29 SANR30 28th 898 Imrie Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) PHIR1 PHIR2 ADER3 ADER4 EASR5 EASR6 HDVR7 HDVR8 HDVR9 CANR10 CANR11 CANR12 BARR13 BARR14 BARR15 CALR16 CALR17 CALR18 ORAR19 ORAR20 QLDR21 WINR22 WINR23 BATR24 PUKR25 PUKR26 PUKR27 SANR28 SANR29 SANR30 Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) PHIR1 PHIR2 ADER3 ADER4 EASR5 EASR6 HDVR7 HDVR8 HDVR9 CANR10 CANR11 CANR12 BARR13 BARR14 BARR15 CALR16 CALR17 CALR18 ORAR19 ORAR20 QLDR21 WINR22 WINR23 BATR24 PUKR25 PUKR26 PUKR27 SANR28 SANR29 SANR30 2002 Imrie Motorsport Holden Commodore (VX) ADER1 ADER2 PHIR3 PHIR4 EASR5 EASR6 EASR7 HDVR8 HDVR9 HDVR10 CANR11 CANR12 CANR13 BARR14 BARR15 BARR16 ORAR17 ORAR18 WINR19 WINR20 QLDR21 BATR22 SURR23 SURR24 PUKR25 PUKR26 PUKR27 SANR28 SANR29 34th 232 Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore (VX) ADER1 ADER2 PHIR3 PHIR4 EASR5 EASR6 EASR7 HDVR8 HDVR9 HDVR10 CANR11 CANR12 CANR13 BARR14 BARR15 BARR16 ORAR17 ORAR18 WINR19 WINR20 QLDR21 BATR22 SURR23 SURR24 PUKR25 PUKR26 PUKR27 SANR28 SANR29 2003 Perkins Engineering Holden Commodore (VX) ADER1 ADER1 PHIR3 EASR4 WINR5 BARR6 BARR7 BARR8 HDVR9 HDVR10 HDVR11 QLDR12 ORAR13 SANR14 BATR15 SURR16 SURR17 PUKR18 PUKR19 PUKR20 EASR21 EASR22 51st 140 2004 Paul Little Racing Holden Commodore (VY) ADER1 ADER2 EASR3 PUKR4 PUKR5 PUKR6 HDVR7 HDVR8 HDVR9 BARR10 BARR11 BARR12 QLDR13 WINR14 ORAR15 ORAR16 SANR17 BATR18 SURR19 SURR20 SYMR21 SYMR22 SYMR23 EASR24 EASR25 EASR26 37th 272

Complete Asia-Pacific Touring Car Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 DC Points 1988 Benson & Hedges Racing Ford Sierra RS500 BAT WEL PUK FJI 7th 20

Complete British Touring Car Championship results (key) ‡ Endurance driver.

† Not eligible for points due to being an endurance driver.

Complete Bathurst 1000 results Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps Overallposition Classposition 1985 Peter Williamson Toyota Peter Williamson Toyota Celica Supra B 32 DNF DNF 1988 Tony Longhurst Racing Tony Longhurst Ford Sierra RS500 A 161 1st 1st 1989 Perkins Engineering Larry Perkins Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV A 158 6th 6th 1990 Perkins Engineering Larry Perkins Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV A 161 3rd 3rd 1991 Perkins Engineering Larry Perkins Holden VN Commodore SS Group A SV 1 65 DNF DNF 1992 Holden Racing Team Brad Jones Holden VP Commodore C 131 15th 2nd 1993 Holden Racing Team Win Percy Holden VP Commodore A 107 DNF DNF 1994 Holden Racing Team Peter Brock Holden VP Commodore A 138 DNF DNF 1995 Holden Racing Team Peter Brock Holden VR Commodore 32 DNF DNF 1996 Holden Racing Team Peter Brock Holden VR Commodore 160 5th 5th 1997 Daily Planet Racing John Trimbole Holden VS Commodore L1 25 DNF DNF 1998 Tomas Mezera Motorsport Alain Menu Holden VT Commodore OC 0 DNF DNF 1999 Tomas Mezera Motorsport Tony Ricciardello Holden VT Commodore 41 DNF DNF 2000 Brad Jones Racing Brad Jones Ford AU Falcon 159 DNF DNF 2001 Holden Racing Team Jason Bright Holden VX Commodore 126 DNF DNF 2002 Holden Racing Team Jason Bright Holden VX Commodore 161 3rd 3rd 2003 Perkins Engineering Paul Dumbrell Holden VX Commodore 155 14th 14th 2004 Paul Little Racing Anthony Tratt Holden VY Commodore 157 18th 18th

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps 1990 Team Schuppan Omron Racing Eje Elgh Thomas Danielsson Porsche 962C C1 326 15th 15th