McLAREN Racing chief executive officer Zak Brown enjoyed his virtual laps of Mount Panorama on Monday night, but could his new signing Daniel Ricciardo do it for real?
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As well as his role with McLaren, a team which last week signed Australian Formula 1 star Ricciardo to a multi-year agreement, Brown is a co-owner of Supercars team Walkinshaw Andretti United.
So as Brown waited for the first of two Supercars celebrity Eseries races at Mount Panorama on Monday, he was asked if Australian fans could see Ricciardo steering a Walkinshaw Andretti United wildcard entry in the Bathurst 1000.
"You know I'll be talking to him about it," Brown laughed.
Though it seems unlikely given the clashes between the Supercars and Formula 1 calendar, last year Ricciardo did admit he would like a crack at Bathurst's iconic enduro.
"I got asked not long ago 'After F1 would you want to do some races, do something else like V8s or NASCAR or Le Mans?'," he said.
"Driving that, [Bathurst] would be pretty cool. I'll never say never. I'd give it a good 50-50 at the moment."
While it remains to be seen if Ricciardo will one day sit behind the wheel of a Supercar at the Mount, Brown enjoyed his simulator experience on a track he calls "unbelievable" and is joking about a rematch.
He qualified in third position with a best lap time of 2:04.854, but ended up seventh in the first nine-lap race following an incident with Mick Doohan up Pit Straight.
In the second race, which featured a reverse grid format, Brown placed 15th.
Brown has enjoyed watching the Supercars All Stars Eseries which has involved WAU drivers Chaz Mostert and Bryce Fullwood plus McLaren talent Lando Norris as a wildcard, saying "it's been good, I've been watching, the racing's great".
Come next year, he will be able to watch Ricciardo in action for him as well.
"Signing Daniel is another step forward in our long-term plan and will bring an exciting new dimension to the team, alongside Lando. This is good news for our team, partners and of course our fans," he said.
