Fujitsu V8 Supercar driver Tim Blanchard will take over the driving duties of the Auto One Wildcard entry at Hidden Valley, for Round 3 of the 2011 Auto One V8 Ute Racing Series - protected by Armor All, 17 - 19 June.
This will be the second time that Blanchard has raced a V8 Ute, after debuting at the 2010 Armor All Gold Coast 600 in Scott Jennings Holden, where he finished 19th for the round.
"I had never driven a Race Ute before the Gold Coast, however now that I know what to expect, I can be a lot better prepared for it."
An accomplished Formula Ford driver, Blanchard won the 2007 Australia Formula Ford Championship before a move overseas resulted in a third in the British Formula Ford Festival and a second in the British Formula Ford Championship.
In 2010, Blanchard made his V8 Supercar Championship debut at Phillip Island when he teamed up with Greg Murphy to finish 13th. He is currently competing in the Fujitsu Series for Team Jayco and will drive with David Reynolds in the V8 Supercar Enduro rounds in the Stratco Holden, with a test session at Darwin.
"Doing both the V8 Ute and the V8 Supercar practice on Friday is definitely going to be busy, however it's another track that I haven't been to, so that's a big bonus," he explained.
The Auto One Wildcard Ute for this round will be the Steve Hodges Holden VE run by Williams Race Tech, previously driven by Sean Carter at Clipsal and Nathan Callaghan in Perth. Blanchard is looking forward to his second drive.
"It's a nice compliment to be the Auto One Wildcard driver. I enjoyed racing the V8 Utes at the Gold Coast last year. The brakes, gearbox, everything is quite different to V8 Supercars. It requires a different style of driving. "I'll be looking to run inside the top 10. If I can come home with a straight car, which can be hard sometimes, I think a top 10 result is quite achievable."
Auto One CEO Peter Henry believes the Wildcard concept is really working for the Series.
"Our concept is not just about giving established and well known drivers a race, it is also about raising the profile of young drivers that we believe have the potential and talent to move forward in the sport and Tim clearly fits that criteria. We want drivers that can run in the top ten and mix up the results a little, and so far, all Auto One Wildcard drivers have delivered that."
Blanchard is proving to be quite a versatile driver, this year along with the Fujitsu V8 Supercars and a Commodore Cup drive at Bathurst in Easter, the V8 Utes will be his third drive in a national category.
Blanchard will have his first drive of the Auto One V8 Ute in the first two practice sessions around Darwin's Hidden Valley Raceway before a qualifying and a further three races over the weekend, 17 - 19 June.
Race 2 and Race 3 will be televised LIVE on network Seven, Saturday, 17th June and Sunday, 18th June respectively.
Only five points separate the top four on the ENZED V8 Ute Leader-board heading into Round 3 with Ice Break Racings' Chris Pither in the lead followed by Grant Johnson in second, Australian Industrial Supplies backed David Sieders in third and VIP Petfood's driver Ryal Harris in fourth.
One V8 Ute Racing Series - protected by Armor All features 32 Ford and Holden production based V8 racing utes - covering 8 championship rounds, and 25 races through five states of Australia. The series is televised nationally on the SEVEN Network, through Fox Sports, TV3 New Zealand, Motors TV Europe and over 40 countries worldwide.
