BATHURST 1000
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IN the midst of the many Bathurst 1000 winners of the past there stands just one Volvo victory, but this year that tally can double.
Next month the brand makes a long-awaited return to the Mount for the Great Race and with it comes a new crowd of supporters hoping for a second win at Bathurst with one of its two entries.
The owner of that one 1998 victory is Jim Richards who, along with Swede Rickard Rydell, piloted their Volvo S40 to the chequered flag.
Richards said the addition of Volvo to make it five different manufacturers contesting the 2014 V8 Supercars championship has been very beneficial to the sport’s culture.
“I think it’s terrific. Now instead of just having Holden and Ford on the grid we’ve got Volvo, Nissan and Mercedes going around too. I think it’s great to see and in my opinion, it’s breathed a lot of life back into the series,” he said.
“The Volvo really feels like a whole new car on the grid. It looks different, but with the different engines it also sounds different. That’s what’s great to have. We’ve got all these cars and they all feel unique.”
Now he’s keen to see the new generation of Volvo drivers take on Bathurst, led by upcoming Kiwi talent Scott McLaughlin, who is contesting his second season in the championship and currently sitting eighth.
“He’s a great young driver and it was great to see him take a win at Barbagallo after his great drive at Pukekohe,” Richards said.
“I think that people have really taken a liking to Volvo, even if they’re Ford or Holden fans. It’s surprising because it may be seen as being unfashionable to be a Volvo supporter but people have been supportive.”
McLauglin teams up with Alexandre Premat in car #33 while Robert Dahlgren will have Greg Ritter as his co-driver in the #34 Volvo.