Former V8 Supercar driver, Jason Bargwanna will debut a V8 Ute at Winton Raceway in the Auto One Wildcard Holden at Round 7 of the 2012 Auto OneV8 Ute Racing Seriesprotected by Armor All, 1618 November.
The former Bathurst 1000 winner (2000 with Garth Tander) is really looking forward to the challenge of driving a V8 Ute.
Ive driven Jack Elsegoods ute a few years ago at a test day, but this will be my first time racing them. Its amazing to think that at this stage in my career Ill be a rookie again, said Bargwanna.
Elsegood thinks its great to have someone like Bargwanna racing in the Series, and the former V8 Ute champion is looking forward to racing against him.
He was definitely quick in the ute. Its always great having quality opposition and its a good yard stick beating some of the notoriety in the sport, its a great achievement, so tell him to watch out, he said.
Bargwanna has over 20 years of motorsport under his belt, kicking off his career in Formula Vee in the late 80s before he debuted in the Bathurst 1000 as a teenager. In 1995 he began racing in the Formula Ford Championship, and in 1996 came second to 2011 Auto One Wildcard driver David Besnard. In the same year he represented Australia in the European Formula Drivers Association Cup and then moved to Formula Holden where he placed 2nd in 1997.
The Victorian joined the V8 Supercar program full-time in 1998 with Gary Rogers Motorsport; he has also raced with Larkham Motorsport, WPS Racing, Rod Nash Racing, Kelly Racing, and Brad Jones Racing.
In 2010 he was voted in the top 50 all-time Australian Touring car drivers. He also raced in the MINI Challenge Series and is looking forward to taking on the challenge of the 1800kg V8 Ute.
Im really looking forward to the challenge. A lot of people underestimate how tough these things are to drive and how good some of the guys are in the Series. Ill be sticking the elbows out and having a good crack, he said.
Bargwanna will take the reins from George Miedecke, who drove the car recently on the Gold Coast and was the most successful Auto One Wildcard driver with a second placing in Race 2 and fifth overall for the round.
Ive won in everything Ive ever raced at Winton. Ive done a lot of testing there over the years so you could say it is one of my home tracks.
I think that as a race car driver you want to go out there and do the best you can and run with the front mix. Ill be giving it everything Ive got, the car seems to have the capability so Ill hopefully be running in the top half of the field and trying to survive, he said.
Other drivers that have driven the Auto One Wildcard include; Tony Longhurst (Bathurst 2012/Sandown 2011), Tim Blanchard (Darwin 2011/12), Adam Marjoram (Perth 2012), Greg Crick (Tasmania 2012) Warren Luff (Adelaide, 2012), Adam Macrow (Sydney 2011), Marcus Zukanovic (Bathurst 2011), David Besnard (Gold Coast 2011), Dean Canto (Townsville 2011), Marcus Marshall (Perth 2011), Charlie OBrien (Adelaide 2011).
Bargwana will hit the track for practice on Friday, 16th November. Followed by Qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday and Race 2 and 3 on Sunday. Race 1 will be televised live as on Network Seven.
