National debut for Marras

This weekend at Winton Motor Raceway, Helena Marras will make her national motor racing debut racing in Australian Super Tin Tops.

Marras will drive a Mazda MX-5 for Denis Pana’s Powerhouse Tune & Race Team.

The story of how Marras ended up behind the wheel is certainly a unique one, Pana found Marras at the Eastern Creek Go Kart Centre and was impressed by her natural talent.

“So, Helena has a part-time job at the Eastern Creek go-kart centre working on the front desk, a friend of mine owns the venue and I happened to be there one day when she was on the track, I was very impressed,” Pana said.

“She has no racing background and didn't start in go-karts at a young age, turns out, she always wanted to do it, but never had the opportunity.

“She finished second in her class the first time out. The second time out, she qualified fifth in a field of 25 in the wet, which was very impressive against a lot of seasoned drivers in the MX-5 Cup.

“We've been progressing since then with a lot of testing, we're looking forward to the new season together.

“We were out at Winton last Friday, we tested, and she seems to love the track, she's very passionate, very dedicated to making this work.”

Pana won’t just be the team boss, he will also be her teammate, as he too will drive a Mazda MX-5.

“Our team is the Powerhouse Tune & Race Team, we have three MX-5s,” he stated.

“Helena will be driving the NC MX-5, which is a 2-litre car, that's the car she's been testing in and we will progress it through the season, she will move up to the turbo cars and so on.

“It's just a progression of small steps, getting everything right and then going from there.”

Keep a close eye out for Marras across the weekend. The event will be broadcast live on SBS Viceland, SBS On Demand, Kayo and Fox Sports from 1pm-5pm AEDT. The Hi-Tec Oils Super Series Stream runs from 9.30am-5pm AEDT both days.

A Saturday ticket to attend costs $20, Sunday $30, or a 2-day pass for just $40. Friday attendance is free for all, while the entire event is free if you are under the age of 16.

Tickets can be purchased here – https://events.humanitix.com/hi-tec-oils-super-series-2025-round-1/tickets