WHEN it comes to tackling the Bathurst 1000 as a co-driver it is no great secret that kilometres and seat time count - that is why Ash Walsh is happy to take on double duties.
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Walsh is one of five men who will both contest the 250 kilometre Super2 series mini enduro on Saturday at Mount Panorama then back up as a co-driver in Sunday's Bathurst 1000.
It is the first time in five years that Walsh, who will share Tim Slade's seat in the main game, has contested the Super2 championship.
But the experienced 31-year-old knows both the laps he has done in earlier 2019 Super2 rounds plus the Bathurst practice, qualifying and race will make him more of an asset for Slade.
"Definitely going into Bathurst, having had miles throughout the year and having driven Supercars throughout the year, that makes a big difference," he said.
"The biggest thing you struggle with as a co-driver is the little things like getting the car off the line and the first lap racing with these guys - just those things that when you're not doing it all the time it can feel a little bit foreign.
"So I feel like having some seat time under the belt and particularly more miles this weekend as well with the Dunlop [Super2] Series will help.
"It's going to be a big weekend, it's going to be a tough weekend with a lot of miles, but it will help you get up to speed quicker and make it a hell of a lot easier."
This year marks Walsh's sixth Bathurst 1000 tilt and third alongside Slade in a Brad Jones Racing Commodore.
Their best result together was a seventh placing three years ago, but Walsh feels they can improve on that this Sunday.
"We've had a bit of a troubled run in the past, we were a bit unlucky in 16 and 17 obviously didn't go to plan with me being out injured at Bathurst. In 18 we just didn't get on top of the car all week and struggled for pace and probably weren't were we should have been," he said.
"So I feel like all the stars are aligning this year to put together a good campaign and I think BJR are starting to become competitive more regularly as well this year, they are getting on top of their package."
As for Walsh's Super2 campaign, his goal will be to improve on his current sixth placing in the series for Matt Stone Racing.
"It has been a bit of an up and down year, I found some cracks in the chassis that would have hindered the last couple of rounds," he said.
"But Bathurst is just one of those tracks where if something small does go wrong, you can pay for it pretty heavily. Because it is really high speed, it sort of lends itself to being full of drama and coupled with endurance races - people get tired and it makes it harder to perform over the whole race distance."
