Australian Production Car Series racer and reigning NSW Formula Ford Champion Lachlan Gibbons will race at the highest-profile event on the Australian motorsport calendar – the Bathurst 1000 – when he makes his debut in the Toyota 86 Racing Series this weekend.
Gibbons will drive for CXC Racing, a team with proven credentials. The Northern Beaches-based outfit took Dylan Thomas to third in last year’s T86RS, and also finished on the podium in the 2017 Bathurst round with Pete Major.
While Gibbons already has miles at Mount Panorama, with two starts in the Bathurst 6 Hour production car race, he is treating this weekend as a learning experience.
“I tested the Toyota 86 at Wakefield Park, and it’s very different to the other cars I’ve raced,” Gibbons said.
“We’ve seen this season that the level of competition in the series is extremely high; the cars require a very particular driving style, they are evenly-matched and the lap times are very close.
“My expectations for the weekend are modest – I’m certainly not expecting to come into the event and wipe the floor against competitors with much more experience driving these cars. But it will be a good opportunity for me to generate some exposure and have a taste of another category as we continue to work on my racing options for 2019.
“So far, my racing has been at state and national-level events, and I can’t wait for the experience of driving at a Supercars meeting.”
Gibbons said he will be relying on experience and knowledge from the team to learn and improve over the weekend.
“Dylan Thomas has done a good job of adapting to the series and he’s generally among the front-runners. He and I both share a strong interest in data analysis, so I think we’ll enjoy working with each other over the weekend.”
The Toyota 86 Series Bathurst round begins with practice on Thursday, followed by qualifying on Friday, two races on Saturday and one race on Sunday.
Round 5 Schedule
Thursday, 4 October
7:15am – Practice 1 (20 min)
2:05pm – Practice 2 (20 min)
Friday, 5 October
7:55am – Qualifying (20 min)
Saturday, 6 October
8:00am – Race 1 (6 laps)
11:15am – Race 2 (6 laps)
Sunday, 7 October
7:30am – Race 3 (6 laps)
