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Marcus Zukanovic Profile
BIRTHDAY: June 26
LIVES: Melbourne
STATUS: Single
ROAD CAR: Slamborguici Zefanga GT3RSC-RR-xRi
FIRST RACE: 1997, Go-kart, Oakleigh
FAVORITE COLOUR: Black
FAVORITE BOOK: Unfair Advantage by Mark Donohue
FAVORITE FOOD: Mum’s Risotto
FAVORITE DRINK: Lemonade, Lime & Bitters
FAVORITE TV SHOW: The Simpsons
FAVORITE MOVIE: Ford Fairlane, Rocky series, Major League and Rush Hour series
FAVORITE BOOK: The Unfair Advantage by Mark Donohue
FAVORITE ACTOR: Eddie Murphy, Chris Tucker and Adam Sandler
FAVORITE ACTRESS: Angeline Jolie, Charlize Theron and Jennifer Aniston
FAVORITE MUSIC: Anything with a good beat!
FAVORITE WEB SITE: V8central.com
FAVORITE OTHER SPORTS: Mountain biking, jet skiing, football and soccer
BOYHOOD RACING IDOL: John Bowe, Craig Lowndes and Michael Schumacher
BEST HIGH SCHOOL SUBJECT: Graphics
MOST RESPECTED SPORTSPERSON: Valentino Rossi, Michael Schumacher, David Beckham, Danny Green and Kostya Tzu
MOST RESPECTED RIVAL: Gary Baxter
HOW DO YOU STAY FIT: Gym work, running, cycling and swimming
FAVORITE TRACK: Bathurst, Melbourne GP, Phillip Island
LEAST FAVORITE TRACK: Winton
FAVORITE CORNER: The Chase at Bathurst
BEST RACE WATCHED: They have all been great!
BEST RACE CONTESTED: 2003 Commodore Cup Championship Race, Mallala SA (started 19th, finished 1st)
BEST CAR DRIVEN: Ford AU Supercar (ex SBR)
WORST CAR DRIVEN: Haven’t had one yet!
FAVORITE ROAD CAR: R34 Nissan Skyline GTR
FIRST EVER ROAD CAR: Ford XF Fairmont Ghia
WHO TAUGHT YOU HOW TO DRIVE ON THE ROAD: My Dad
BEST MOMENT IN RACING: Winning The V8 Ute race at the Melbourne GP the first time it was held there and racing at Bathurst for the first time in a V8 Supercar
WORST MOMENT IN RACING: The few times I have crashed!
WORST CRASH: Commodore Cup final round of the 2002 series at Oran Park
IF YOU COULD MAKE ONE CHANGE TO ROAD RULES, WHAT WOULD THAT BE: Bigger fines for people who drive slow in the fast lane!
DO YOU HAVEANY SUPERSTITIONS: No
HOW DO YOU MOTIVATE YOURSELF BEFORE A RACE: I think of being on the podium and how good it is and then race to try and get there!
DO YOU HAVE ANY PRE-RACE HABITS THAT YOU USUALLY DO: As soon as I put my helmet on I forget everything else and focus on the job at hand!
WHO DESIGNED YOUR HELMET AND WHAT DOES IT REPRESENT: I designed it myself. The colours and layout is just a symbol of my personality!
IF YOU WERE NOT A RACING DRIVER, WHAT CAREER WOULD YOU HAVE PURSUED: Well I would work in my Dad’s Business until I hopefully become a racing driver! Ha Ha
IF YOU COULD INVITE ANY FOUR PEOPLE (DEAD OR ALIVE) TO DINNER, WHO WOULD THEY BE: Eddie Murphy, Angeline Jolie, Eddie Irvine and Christina Aguilera
IF HOLLYWOOD MADE A MOVIE ABOUT YOU, WHO WOULD YOU WANT TO PLAY YOUR PART: Owen Wilson
FAMILY: Father Michael Zukanovic raced go-karts, speedway and boats over many years, Mother Denise never been a big fan of racing and sister Nicole a few races in a go-kart
FIRST DROVE: At age of eight in a Toyota Corolla in a paddock next door to my dad’s factory
COMPETITION CAREER
1997-2000
Started to race Go - karts in 1997 in a couple of different classes like Clubman Heavy, Twin Clubman, Formula 100 and Rotax. While Karting he traveled all over Australia with it winning various championships and open meetings.
2000
This was the year that Marcus would make his debut in a race car. The first car he would drive was a Commodore Cup car in the Victorian state series where he placed 7th out of 25 cars.
Also competed in selected rounds of the Saloon Car series driving an EB falcon placing in the top ten at each round having never driven one before this also took him to the Gold Coast Indy.
2000 - 2001
After the Victorian state series and Saloon car rounds were over Marcus contested several rounds of the National Commodore Cup series which was held over the summer.
His first appearance saw him qualify front row and take home third place first time at Mallala and first time in the series. He would then also take another third from Oran Park later in the series.
2001
This year Marcus contested again the Victorian series in Commodore Cup where he placed 4th overall.
2002
This year would be the first year that Marcus would contest the full Commodore Cup National Championship where he took 2nd in the series narrowly missing the title by a small margin.
Through the series though he took numerous round wins and several lap records which labeled him as a serious contender for the following year!
2003
With now a solid year of Commodore Cup under his belt he again returned to have another assault at the title which evaded him last year. With the year looking good it wasn’t until the second last round held at Mallala where the year turned sour with an engine malfunction in the first race of the weekend, but this would be the turning point of his career. Borrowing a spare engine off a fellow competitor he then had the drive which would prove to be the drive of the year in Commodore Cup starting 19th on the grid and then winning the race in 10 laps.
Even after a race like that Marcus managed to fall short once again and finish the series in 2nd place.
2004
After his almost faultless series in Commodore Cup the year before Marcus managed to secure a drive in the hotly contested V8 Supercar Konica Minolta series, Where he drove for Paul Cruickshank Racing in the ex Marcos Ambrose AU Falcon
Getting off to a slow start, he then drove his way to 11th in the series out of approx 40 cars also earning him a nomination for rookie of the year along the way
Whilst driving for Paul Cruickshank Racing he also appeared in a V8 Ute for the first time driving a falcon XR 8. In this series he managed to drive himself into 5th position for the year and take out the rookie of the year trophy, again with several podiums and lap records
As if this year wasn’t busy enough Marcus also competed in several Commodore Cup rounds Winning 2 out of 3 appearances and finishing 2nd at the other round in Tasmania
2005
Racing both Commodore Cup and V8 Utes simultaneously. Came 2nd in the V8 Utes, missing out by 2 points.
With 3 Poles positions, 16 wins, 4 seconds, 3 thirds, 10 fastest laps, 2 lap records, and 6 round wins it was certainly a good year. Only Hidden Valley and Surfers Paradise were the ordinary rounds.
2006
It was a watershed year for Marcus winning both the Yokohama V8 Ute Championship and the eBanc Trade Commodore Cup Championship on the same weekend in November at Eastern Creek. His main rival was Coopers Pale Ale Racing and HOTLAP Talent Development Teammate Jack Elsegood.
Marcus was definitely a popular person off the track as well and the Australian motor sport governing body, The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) awarded him the highest social accolade - The CAMS Motor Sport Personality of the Year. Whilst the award is voted for by the public, CAMS also has input and their decision was a popular one. Marcus joins an elite group of drivers winning the award.
Previous winners were:
2005 Grant DENYER
2004 Marcos AMBROSE
2003 Simon EVANS
2002 Craig LOWNDES
2001 Marcos AMBROSE
One additional award came just before Christmas with Auto Action readers voting Marcus “National Driver of the Year.”
2007 looms and its off to the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Championship. MArcus has acquired Garth Tander’s 2006 Championship car, a TOLL HSVDT Holden Commodore VZ.
2007
January and February saw testing of the V8 Supercar at Winton and all looked well for the opening round at Adelaide.
That was until five laps into the season Marcus came across another car on the notorious and super fast turn 8 at Adelaide - the offender was on line with a puncture and both cars suffered heavy damage. Luckily the team had the components to repair the car and Marcus qualified 20th. His race pace was stunning, moving to 10th by the 2nd lap and as high as 7th before mechanical problems crept in. It was a showing of what was to come and Wakefield park revealed the true pace with a 3rd in race 2 and 10th outright.
Easter was a chance to drive at Bathurst and so the championship winning Commodore Cup car was let loose - Marcus won the event and set a new lap record around the tricky Mount Panorama circuit. Definitely a good omen for October...