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Bathurst ‘feels like home’ for Pither

David Long david.long@stuff.co.nz

Thanks to Covid-19, New Zealand’s presence at this year’s Bathurst 1000 is down from what it’s been in recent years, but there’s still hope that a Kiwi driver can win the great race for the third time in a row.

Scott McLaughlin, Greg Murphy, Earl Bamber and Richie Stanaway were all hoping to compete, but border issues proved too problematic, so instead of it being a Bathurst 1000 that every motor racing fan in New Zealand would want to be at, Kiwis watching from home have just four drivers to cheer on.

Fulltime Kiwi Supercars drivers Shane van Gisbergen, Fabian Coulthard and Andre Heimgartner are all at Mt Panorama and so too is Chris Pither, who’ll be Macauley Jones’ co-driver at BJR.

The 34-year-old Pither, from Palmerston North, was a fulltime Supercars driver last year for Team Sydney, although didn’t get a seat this season, but his experience should be invaluable this weekend.

‘‘I’ve been a primary driver in the two fulltime seasons I’ve done, in 2016 and last year,’’ Pither said.

‘‘The fact that I was fulltime last year meant that I did plenty of miles and there’s no substitute in Supercars for seat time and that puts me in good stead going into the race.

‘‘I feel confident in that respect and it’s a track BJR are normally quite strong at. I did Bathurst with the team in 2013 and 2014, so I have a lot of mates here and it feels like home.’’

All co-drivers must do at least 54 of the 161 laps around the Mt Panorama circuit and there are two schools of thought about how they should get through them.

One is to just get the car round the track safely as there’s nothing more infuriating for a team boss than having his part-time driver put the car into a wall, which Pither did in Thursday’s practice session. The other is to go for it.

If the co-driver can advance the car up the field during the middle stages of the race it can be the difference between standing on a podium or not at the end of it.

This will be Pither’s 12th Bathurst 1000, so he knows his way around the track and he’s had two top 10 finishes, with his best result coming fourth with Dale Wood in 2017.

‘‘The last few years have been pretty good,’’ he said.

‘‘Obviously it was a good achievement with Dale, but to finish one place off the podium was bittersweet.

‘‘I was happy with that result, but I was aiming to be on the podium and obviously the top step.

‘‘It was a nice result, but I want to aim higher this year. We’ll have our

work cut out, but we’ll give it a redhot crack and it’s the kind of race where anything can happen. There are a lot of variables, but if you’re in it at the end, you can feature for a result.’’

Pither and Jones are far from favourites tomorrow. Jones hasn’t finished in the top 10 in any races this season and of all the main game drivers, there’s only Coulthard lower than him in the standings.

But the beauty of Bathurst is that anything can happen. In 2014 Chaz Mostert won the race from starting last on the grid.

‘‘There are so many variables

that can impact the result,’’ Pither said. ‘‘Anything can happen and it’s the complete opposite to the sprint races.

‘‘We’ve seen guys win it from the back before and the weather

forecast is that it could be wet.

‘‘As soon as it rains, you throw different strategies out the window.’’

Pither hasn’t given up on returning as a fulltime Supercars driver next year. There are still a few seats available and he has in his favour sponsorship support from Coca-Cola.

‘‘I’m still working hard on it,’’ he said. ‘‘There was only one opportunity this year to stay in fulltime and it wasn’t the right one for me.

‘‘At this point, I don’t have anything locked away, but there are still a few things up in the air.’’

‘‘There are so many variables that can impact the result. Anything can happen.’’ Chris Pither on the Bathurst 1000

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2021-12-04T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-12-04T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/282686165509542

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