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Former Bathurst 1000 winner, Jason
Bargwanna, will become the first of several guest drivers to suit up in the MINI
CHALLENGE ‘UBER-STAR CAR’ when he joins the Series for it’s first ever race
meeting on March 7-9 at Eastern Creek.
35-year-old Bargwanna will join the
grid for the opening round, which doubles as the worldwide racing debut for the
R56 model MINI John Cooper Works CHALLENGE racecar. He will drive the MINI
CHALLENGE ‘UBER-STAR CAR’ – a car that will feature a high profile driver at
each round, chosen for their ability to add a new dimension to the series and to
capture the attention of the crowd and those who love the MINI
legend.
After an 11-year career in V8
Supercars, to drive in MINI CHALLENGE will be a seachange of sorts for Bargwanna
– but not that far removed from his heritage as the son of Harry Bargwanna – a
racer of note from when the MINI legend first started in Australia – who, in fact still races
against MINI race cars in historic racing.
“I think it’s an exciting category
with great growth prospects,” said Jason. “Everyone has a story about MINI. Guys
my age have heard their old man talk about MINI racing at Bathurst in the ‘good old
days’ and we remember watching them when we were kids. Personally, my kids are
more excited about me racing a MINI than they are a V8
Supercar!
“I’ve had a look at the cars and
they are fantastic, it looks like it will be a lot of fun,” he enthused. “The
results attained by the team that built the car (BMW Motorsport’s WTCC Team)
speak for themselves and piloting the MINI John Cooper Works CHALLENGE car at
Eastern Creek on its worldwide racing debut will be a great experience.
“I have had good success at Eastern
Creek in the past, it’s a real driver’s track and hey, if it’s good enough for
Alex Zanardi to race a MINI, then it’s good enough for
me!”
Bargwanna is known as one of the
leading personalities in Australian motorsport and having him aboard MINI
CHALLENGE for the first round will assist in enhancing the Seven Network’s
coverage of the event.
Justin Hocevar, National Manager
MINI Australia, said Jason would bring further crowd appeal to the event as one
of its ‘celebrity’ drivers.
“The MINI is renowned for its
competitive racing spirit and Jason has this quality in spades,” Justin
said.
“He rings bells with the crowd
whenever he is driving, so the MINI legend will roll on with him at Eastern
Creek.
“Jason is the first in a long line
of well known people from an incredibly diverse background that have approached
MINI to jump aboard MINI CHALLENGE this year.”
The third race from Eastern Creek on
Sunday March 9 has attracted live coverage, as six of the eight round Series
will.
The MINI CHALLENGE UBER-STAR CAR
will be operated by the Bib Stillwell MINI Garage team. This team will have two
sister cars in MINI CHALLENGE – being piloted by Michael and Chris Stillwell –
sons of the legendary Bib Stillwell – respectively.
The full MINI CHALLENGE calendar is
as follows:
Round 1: March 7-9 – Eastern Creek,
Sydney, NSW
Round 2: April 4-6 – Wakefield Park, Goulburn,
NSW*
Round 3: May 9-11 – Barbagallo,
Perth, WA
Round 4: June 7-9 – Sandown,
Melbourne, Vic
Round 5: September 12-14 –
Phillip
Island,
Vic
Round 6: October 9-12 – Mount
Panorama, Bathurst, NSW
Round 7: November 21-23 – Symmons Plains, Tasmania
Round 8: December 4-7 –
Oran Park, Sydney, NSW
*Denotes V8 Supercar Development
Series round
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