IN 2003 Bathurst race fans were treated to an iconic moment at Mount Panorama when Greg Murphy produced what was dubbed the 'Lap of the Gods', a moment they were still talking about five days later when Jay Hanson was born.
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Now, 16 years on, Murphy is no longer grabbing headlines for his efforts behind the wheel but Hanson certainly is.
The talented teen has just signed a contract to race for Ashley Seward Motorsport in the 2020 TCR series and as such, will be on the grid when the series makes its debut at Mount Panorama in Easter as part of the Bathurst 6 Hour support card.
While Hanson has never before raced at the iconic Bathurst circuit, he will be one to watch. Though he still has two years left before he completes his high school education, he has already raced in Las Vegas, France and Italy.
It means he has set himself the goal of running in the top 10 and by the time the TCR series returns to Mount Panorama later in the year for the Bathurst International, Hanson wants to be pushing for a podium behind the wheel of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce.
"I can't wait for season 2020 and some of the great racing that we've seen in TCR Australia," Hanson said.
"There's going to be pressure on myself to at least finish in the top 10 for the year, but hopefully we can be in a position to get some podiums by the end of the year.
"TCR is a worldwide category, and there's many places to go after the Australian Series.
"Eventually, I'd like to move overseas and race there."
The Victorian young gun will drive the Alfa that Dylan O'Keeffe used with great success this year, finishing fifth overall and taking two pole positions and four race wins.
Seward hopes Hanson will find similar success.
"It's really exciting to have Jay join us for our TCR program in the Alfa Romeo," the team boss said.
"He did an exceptionally good job in Formula Ford, and we had an evaluation day and he did a great job in the car.
"The power to weight ratio of a Formula Ford to a TCR are very similar, so I reckon from what we've seen with him, there's no reason why he can't be challenging for podium finishes."
