Following a big day of intensive final preparations, PremiAir Racing and its drivers Jimmy Golding, Dylan O’Keeffe, Chris Pither and Cameron Hill are ready for anything the Mountain may throw at them in tomorrow’s Repco Bathurst 1000.
Importantly given the weather forecast for tomorrow’s Great Race, the team is confident that it has reliable and fast set-ups for both wet and dry conditions for the #31 Subway PremiAir Racing Supercar and the #22 PremiAir Coca-Cola Supercar.
“We are ready,” PremiAir Racing Team Principal, Matt Cook, said.
“We did our last two one-hour practice sessions today and they gave us a good indication of how the car will react in both the wet and the dry and I think we are ready for both scenarios.
“Both our A-drivers will start the race tomorrow – with the inclement weather around, we won’t want to put that pressure on our B-drivers. So, we will start with Jimmy and Chris, let the race pan out for a little bit, and then put Dylan and Cameron in for their stints.
“The cars might be a bit of a hybrid tomorrow, as we are predicting a little bit of dry and a little bit of wet, but I think we have got a very good understanding of both conditions and we will have some pretty quick cars.”
Team Owner Peter Xiberras is feeling excited ahead of the team’s Great Race debut.
“I am excited and a bit nervous at the same time,” Xiberras said.
“In a funny way it is a bit surreal for me, because for 40 years I have watched or come to Bathurst, I have never missed it, and I have really been just a fan and tomorrow, I will be here still as a fan, nothing has changed in that regard, but then there will be the added pressure and responsibilities of running a team.
“I am excited. To me, if we can complete 161 laps and keep both cars on the black stuff and come home in a respectable position, it will be great.
“To find ourselves up on the podium balcony of course would be a dream come true, there is no two ways about that, but is that asking too much on our first go, maybe – but you never know your luck!” he grinned.
DRIVER QUOTEBOARD: PREMIAR RACING REPCO BATHURST 1000 – SATURDAY OCTOBER 8, 2022
Jimmy Golding – #31 Subway PremiAir Racing Supercar – main driver
“All in all, it was a good day for us. We got through what we wanted to get through, and we learnt where we went wrong in qualifying yesterday which is all positive stuff. We have a solid car underneath us now heading into either wet or dry conditions. I am feeling really comfortable, the car is consistent, and Dylan is feeling comfortable also. There is nothing else we need to do now to get ready for tomorrow, we are ready to go.”
Dylan O’Keeffe – #31 Subway PremiAir Racing Supercar – co-driver
“We are feeling pretty well prepared. We had a good run in the wet today and in the dry I am comfortable. Jimmy and I just have to do our job tomorrow, I think it is going to be drier so the car should come on quite well. It is all about the race end as we know, I have just got to do my job at the start, get my stints out of the way, be safe and be fast, and hand it over to Jimmy. Hopefully we can end up towards the top – let’s hope so!”
Chris Pither – #22 PremiAir Coca-Cola Racing Supercar – main driver
“Today was all about working through those final preparations and it was great that we had both wet and dry running today as it has allowed us to ensure we are as prepared as possible tomorrow. We have our wet and dry scenarios sorted and so we will be ready for whatever the weather throws at us. My personal best here is a 4th position, so to better that would be amazing, and we will be doing everything we can to put our best foot forward tomorrow.”
Cameron Hill – #22 PremiAir Coca-Cola Racing Supercar – co-driver
“Today was great and I have been doing plenty of laps. I drove in both practice sessions, wet and dry, and I had a Super2 qualifying session as well which went reasonably well, and we had good speed. I feel like I am getting more and more comfortable with every lap I do around here, so I am definitely feeling prepared for tomorrow and am looking forward to it.”
The Repco Bathurst 1000 will commence at 11.15 am local time tomorrow, Sunday October 9. It will be preceded by a 20-minute warm-up at 8.00am. For event information, visit www.supercars.com.au
PremiAir Racing is publishing a day wrap at the conclusion of each day of the event which will be emailed to subscribers, published on social media, and also available on the website. Race weekend updates will also be published across the weekend on the www.premiairracing.sailorstudio.net website and published to social media.
For more information on PremiAir Racing, please visit www.premiairracing.sailorstudio.net or follow the team on its social media platforms at www.facebook.com/PremiAirRacing/, www.instagram.com/premiair_racing/, www.linkedin.com/company/premiairracing/ and www.twitter.com/premiairracing
