Tomas Mezera, born 5 November 1958, in Czechoslovakia and now resides in Queensland, Australia. Mezera is best known as racing driver. Mezera won the 1988 Bathurst 1000 and for many years led the Holden Racing Team as 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.

Formula Racing

He quickly was introduced to racing and joined the ranks of Formula Ford in 1982. By 1985 he had won the TAA Driver to Europe series. In 1987 he returned to Europe and the British Formula Ford Championship, finishing second. He had two poor years in British Formula Three 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

This led to racing a Porsche 956 for fellow Aussie Vern Schuppan in the [[All Japan Sports Prototype Championship[Japanese GT]] series and a drive in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1990. He had five races in the British Touring car Championship in 1989 and 1990 with two podiums. On returning to Australia he was picked up by Frank Gardner who was running Tony Longhurst's touring car team for the 1988 endurance season as a co-driver for Longhurst.

The pair won the jewel in the crown, the 1988 Bathurst 1000 in a Ford Sierra RS500. Mezera returned to Europe to continue his pursuit of racing professionally overseas, returning to Australia for the endurance season, racing for the Holden Racing Team or for Perkins Engineering. He finished third with Larry Perkins in the 1990 Bathurst 1000 and the pair won the 1990 Nissan Sydney 500 at Eastern Creek Raceway.

When Win Percy returned to England after the 1991 season, Mezera was asked by Tom Walkinshaw to replace Percy as the manager of HRT, a job he continued in for two seasons. It was Mezera who put HRT on the path to what it became in the late 90's and it could be said that much of HRT's success in 1996 could be linked to what Mezera had brought to the team in the previous couple of seasons.

Mezera was actually the first pole sitter when the ATCC became what we know today as V8 Supercars in 1993. He continued to race for HRT until the end of the 1995 season, replaced by Craig Lowndes. His full-time racing career wound down at that point although he continued to get drives as a hired gun for many Holden teams before starting his own team in 1998.

In 2001 he made a return to the Holden Racing Team as an endurance driver and finished third in the 2002 Bathurst 1000 and fourth at the Queensland 500 showing all those around him he still had what it takes to be a leading driver.

He retired from racing in 2004 and is now a Driving Standards Official for CAMS and V8 Supercars Australia

Career results

The Reynard FF83 with which Mezera won the 1985 Motorcraft Formula Ford Driver to Europe Series

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The Ford Sierra Mezera drove to win 1988 Tooheys 1000

Bathurst 1000 Results

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans Results

Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of the winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).

Year	Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Tyre	Laps
						Engine
1990	15	C1	55	Team Schuppan Omron Racing	Eje Elgh Thomas Danielsson	Porsche TS962	D	326
						Porsche Type-935 3.0L Turbo Flat-6

References

1. ^ Reynard Owners Listings Retrieved on 24 August 2011

• Driver Database Stats
• Conrod V8 Supercar stats