Bathurst 1000 Bites Me Again 🏔️

G'day guys,

Well, Bathurst never fails to throw everything at you, and this year was no different.

It was a massive week for all of us - Toyota's first crack at the Mountain in the Supercars era - and Fabian and I rolled into town leading the Enduro Cup after The Bend, so there was plenty of excitement in the camp.

Qualifying didn't quite go our way. We'd been looking strong through practice, but we ended up 16th and just missed the Top 10 Shootout, the first time I've missed it since 2018. Not where we wanted to be, but it's a 1000km race and we knew we had the pace to come through. 

Sunday morning gave us a good indication of that. We went fastest in the Warm Up in the Mobil 1 Optus Toyota Supra with a 2:05.3206, which was the first time a Toyota has ever topped a Supercars session at Bathurst. Pretty cool moment for the whole team and for Toyota.

Fabian did an awesome job at the start, picking up three spots on the opening lap to get us up to 13th, and from there it was a long, clean grind with no Safety Cars for most of the day. The crew were mega in pit lane, we stayed out of trouble and we were steadily picking our way forward.

With 14 laps to go we were sitting inside the top 10 and still chasing. Unfortunately, with a handful of laps left I clipped the inside wall at Forrest's Elbow and had a big hit. I’m gutted for Fabian and every single person in the team who put so much into this campaign - the car was good and we deserved a decent result out of it. Mount Panorama bites hard when you're pushing right on the edge, and that's what you have to do around there. 

It's not the way we wanted to end our Bathurst, but there are a lot of positives to take away. The Supra was quick, we topped a session on the Mountain, and we're still right in the mix in the Enduro Cup.

Massive thanks to Fabian, the whole crew, Toyota, Mobil 1, Optus and all our partners for their support, and to everyone who made the trip to Bathurst – the crowd was unreal this year. Next up is the Gold Coast 500 as the Finals kick off. We'll regroup, rebuild and come back swinging. See you there!

Cheers,
Chaz