WHEN Jason Bargwanna won the Bathurst 1000 with Garth Tander 20 years ago, he had no idea he'd one day be involved with a virtual challenge at Mount Panorama.
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But now, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, that's exactly what he will be doing on Thursday evening.
Jason Bargwanna and his son Ben Bargwanna will share an entry in the the Australian Racing Group's eSport Cup.
The eSport Cup is a new online series, one which was borne out of the coronavirus pandemic as the regular motor sport world was put on ice.
The 10-round series will feature races for Audi TCR cars and Formula 3 cars at race tracks all around the world, beginning with Bathurst's iconic circuit.
It will be streamed live and free on the TCR Australia Facebook page and YouTube.
While Jason Bargwanna's resume boasts 377 Supercars races and starting in the Bathurst's Great Race 17 times, this series is an entirely different challenge.
"This is whole new eye opener for me, my sim experience is Colin McRea Rally clamping a steering wheel to the coffee table and a stack of books holding the pedals from sliding across the floor," he said.
"In the last couple of weeks I have discovered direct drive and refresh rate.
"This sim racing is seriously cool to watch, and damn competitive. We all compare ourselves to our team-mate, and mine's going to be tough to beat. Ben is a bit of a gun on these things and hoses me.
"These blokes all talk about having a laugh and a bit of fun, but I bet this will be full on and great to be part of.
"Ben is already trash talking with the other drivers and they are winding each other up."
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With father and son sharing an entry, it will be Ben Bargwanna who will take to the simulator for the opening round at Mount Panorama.
He can't wait.
"The whole idea of racing in the ARG eSports Cup screams excitement," he said.
"To be able to race against some of the guys you watch on TV will be a whole lot of fun.
"I don't know a lot about iRacing but I'm eager to jump in and give it a crack.
"It's a great way to take our minds off the devastating events that are occurring around the world, and I hope people can enjoy some close, exciting racing - something we haven't had for quite a while now.
"Bathurst being round one will be mega. There's no better way to kick off the championship, and I'm lucky that I will have Dad by my side to give me all of his knowledge."
Jason Bargwanna said that he has been encouraged to see the motor sport fraternity work closely together during these tough times.
"This whole situation is tough on a lot of people and it's hard to watch so many people under so much stress both health wise and financially," he said.
"The motor racing industry employees so many people and is really hard to deal with at the moment for the whole racing family. I like the fact we can all, racers and fans, work with each to get through this, as well are all in this together.
"Motor sport certainly teaches you to be resilient and you learn to adapt and be ready for the unknown. So we can apply some of those lessons, stay home and adapt in a way we can get through this, and we will get through this."
The eSport Cup will kick off this Thursday.
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