Schumacher is thinking about securing a national championship in his first attempt and doing it on the slopes of Mount Panorama.

He's thinking about stepping up into the top class of the GT World Challenge Australia series in 2022.

He's thinking about entering his own team in a future edition of the Bathurst 12 Hour.

And the thing is, with a new current specification Kelso Electrical Audi R8 LMS in the Schumacher Motorsport garage, all those goals are a realistic shot of coming to fruition for the Bathurst driver.

"Once the right car was offered to us we decided to look to future. To continue to race at the calibre we wished to race, we needed to upgrade the equipment," Schumacher said.

"The idea, once we hopefully tick off our goal of winning a national championship this year, will be to step up into the pro class. That's the whole idea behind the new car, that we can open up our options into the future and continue to progress.

"The other thing we really want to look at, and you might call it a pipe dream at the moment, is in the past I've run in three Bathurst 12 Hours as a driver only, not a driver and team owner.

"So entering our own entry is something we've discussed and we have some drivers in the background that are very accomplished, so we'd be able to field a very successful team."

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WHILE Schumacher started the season behind the wheel of an Audi, he says it is "chalk and cheese" comparing it with his new purchase.

He got the chance to familiarise himself with the new Audi at Sydney Motorsport Park on Thursday and while it bucketed down rain, he obtained valuable data.

It led the driver and his team to make the decision to campaign it in the final round of this year's GT World Challenge Australia series.

"It's the current chassis, it's the latest variation of the Audi R8, however the current trim we have it in is the 2018 evolution. That way we can still use it in the GT Trophy class for this year," Schumacher explained.

"Then for next year, we can just upgrade the evo package on the car to bring it up to either a 2021 spec or a 2022 specification."

So what is the difference between his old Audi and the new one?

"Basically everything is different, literally the only thing that is the same between the two cars are the wheel nuts," he said.

"Notably it actually doesn't have quite as much straight line speed, it's been restricted, but it has a lot better braking power and then it's is a lot faster through the turns.

"It really suits Mount Panorama well because it's good from Griffins Bend all the way to down to Forrest's Elbow, as Audi has been renowned for that.

"It's a much more rigid chassis, there's a lot more driver feel out of the car, they really are chalk and cheese."

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HEADING into the season finale of the GT World Challenge Australia series, Schumacher holds a 25-point lead in the trophy class.

In his series debut at Phillip Island in March, he set a GT3 amateur class lap record for the circuit and secured a second in class podium for the opening race.

Next up it was racing at Mount Panorama as part of the Bathurst 6 Hour program and he continued to impress. He was first in class for both races and also pushed the outright contenders.

The most recent round was at The Bend in May where he placed fourth then first in class in the two races.

"It's our first foray in a nationally recognised championship and you can't tell the future, we didn't really know where we'd stand, especially as a privateer Bathurst team really stepping up the to big stage," Schumacher said.

"There's been a lot of work and effort go into that, especially moving on from Porsche to Audi, there's been a lot of learning involved and a lot of development. So I guess it sort of happened without us realising it had happened.

"Anybody that knows me knows I'm not a glass half full kind of guy. I'm basically all in with anything I do, whether it's business or pleasure.

"So I guess personally for me, in my head, I am telling myself I am going to win every race but obviously it's one thing to say that and another thing to do it.

"Fortunately enough we've had a bunch of race wins this season and also a bit of luck of course."

While Schumacher said running in the top three in class in each of the remaining races will see him remain on top of the championship, he will be racing to win.

"I'll just be hopping in the car and pushing it to the limit like I do every other time," he said.

"I feel that's when things can go wrong, when you're not driving a car naturally to the way you like to drive. Naturally I am a reasonably aggressive driver, so that's what I'll be doing."

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SCHUMACHER will get his chance to seal a national title in his maiden attempt at Mount Panorama when the category forms part of a huge six-day Bathurst 1000 event.

It's a prospect which - naturally - excites him.

"It's going to be an exciting event with so many categories there and all are nationally regarded categories," he said.

"It will be the best of the best drivers all in one place at the same time, there really are no B grade categories at this round. For spectators it is going to be an absolute spectacle."

Aside from racing at his home track, what gives Schumacher confidence is what he did when racing at Mount Panorama in round two.

"At Bathurst earlier this year I was running third outright in machinery which was a lot older. Chaz Mostert just took me down the inside at The Chase in the final lap before the chequered flag," he said.

"The thing is in the trophy class we get one set less of tyres for race as well and that's what makes it so tough. Towards the end of the race you've got pro drivers who are on much greener tyres than you are and in a current specification car.

"But now we have the newer car obviously we're going to have better machinery, it will probably look after the tyres a little bit better than the older car."

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