MOTOR SPORT
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
SINCE the rejuvenation of the Bathurst 12 Hour and the endurance race regulation forcing full-time V8 Supercar Championship drivers to have a non-series co-driver, Mount Panorama has played host to some of the biggest names in motor sport.
That list of global superstars is set to grow once more in October when Walkinshaw Racing pilot Lee Holdsworth hits the track with four-time Champ Car world champion Sebastien Bourdais as his off-sider for the Bathurst 1000.
Holdsworth and his team announced that the Frenchman would be joining their outfit for the 2015 endurance season that includes the Sandown 500 and Gold Coast 600 in addition to the Bathurst race.
It won’t be Bourdais’ first appearance in the category, having raced as a co-driver from 2010-2012 when it was a requirement for teams to have an international driver at the Gold Coast race.
Driving with Jamie Whincup in that period, he proved his worth by earning four podium finishes.
He also brings with him some Formula 1 pedigree, having raced with Toro Rosso in 2008-09.
“It’s great news, I’m very happy about it obviously. I’ve been looking forward to coming to Bathurst for a few years and had a fun experience with Jamie a few years back at Surfers,” Bourdais said.
“Every year I’m looking at calendars and seeing if it can work.
“It [Bathurst] is a nice challenge, it was on the bucket list. It’s a great track and I’ve been watching the race every year from afar and I’m really pumped about the fact that this year, I’ll be on-site and inside the car.”
The relationship Bourdais developed with Adrian Burgess during his short stints at Triple 8 Racing helped lure him to the Walkinshaw team for this year – and regular driver Holdsworth knows it is a coup.
“I couldn’t be happier having Sebastien join us for this year’s Enduro Cup,” Holdsworth said.
“If his pace at the Gold Coast is anything to go by, I’m confident we’ll be mixing it up the front for the enduros.
“A good endurance series can make or break your championship, so it’s important to give yourself the best opportunity; having Sebastien puts us in a really strong position.
“It’s a bonus he’s driven these cars in the past and been successful.
“Adrian [team director Burgess] worked with Sebastien last time he drove a V8 and was seriously impressed.”
Bourdais is already looking forward to reuniting with Burgess, and racing at the world renowned Mount Panorama track as well as the other two endurance events.
“After the great successes I enjoyed with Holden and Adrian in 2011 and 2012, it is great to come back to V8 Supercars,” Bourdais said.
“Thanks to Charlie Schwerkolt and Walkinshaw Racing, I will check off my bucket list races I have been wanting to compete in for a while.
“I met Lee a few years back, he is a great guy, a terrific driver and I wish him and the team all the best for the season until I get the chance to share his car.”
The announcement completes the Walkinshaw Racing co-driver line-up, with James Courtney to pair with Jack Perkins, and Garth Tander and Tim Slade reuniting with Warren Luff and Tony D’Alberto respectively.
Bourdais currently races for KV Racing Technology in the Verizon IndyCar Series in North America.