Rising Porsche racing star Tom Bewley will make his Bathurst debut this weekend in the Porsche Carrera Cup support races with new backing from QuayStreet Investment Management.
The 18-year-old rookie has made an impressive start to the season in his Porsche New Zealand scholarship car, with double poles and top-six race results, but acknowledges it will be a tall order to keep that form going on his first visit to the famous Mount Panorama circuit.
“I’ve never seen the place before, let alone driven it, so I’m looking forward to experiencing it,” said Bewley, who has been given a lifeline from his new Bathurst round sponsor.
“It’s really awesome to have QuayStreet Investment Management on board for one of the biggest rounds of the year. The last three rounds are the most watched on the calendar and to have them with us this weekend at the round I’ve most looked forward to all year is just incredible.”
But Bewley’s excitement is tempered by the fact that he lacks the experience of most drivers in the field.
“A lot of sim work’s been going on and watching the team videos from past years. I feel if you are from New Zealand or Australia most people have done a million laps in the sim around Bathurst,” he said.
“Some of the latest iRacing scans are pretty good, so you can feel a few of the bumps and stuff for where to place the car, and there’s a pretty accurate [Porsche] Cup Car on there that tells me what gears to use, but obviously you don’t have the g-forces. And then you can reset if you crash, which you can’t do in the real car.”
Unlike traditional motor racing circuits, there is no pre-testing at the Bathurst road track, and Bewley will get just one 50-minute practice session before the all-important qualifying ahead of the three races over the weekend.
“Traditionally, over the years, it’s been pretty bad there for red flag stoppages during practice, with sometimes only getting five laps of practice, so it’s going to be pretty tough. I just need to go out there and find the limit as fast as possible, really. You don’t really have time to warm up to it, so that’s why the sim laps have been so important to know where to place the car when I get there for the first few laps.”
The Havelock North teenager has set his sights on consistent performances and reaching the chequered flag in all three races.
“Consistent results across all three races, which means finishing all three races and keeping the car clean. Obviously I want to be up the front, but I don’t expect to be in the top three to top five because most of the guys in this field have done Bathurst before, some multiple times with Supercars [experience] as well. I don’t expect to be putting it on pole.”
This weekend the races in Porsche Equity-One Carrera Cup Australia start with a 40-minute race on Friday followed by two half-hour races on Saturday and Sunday. Bewley doesn’t expect too many more passing opportunities on this road circuit despite the longer lap distance.
“Over the top unless someone makes a pretty massive mistake you’re not going to get by; down the hill is pretty much one lane, so the main opportunities will be at the end of the long straights like at The Chase where I think the tow and the draft will be really good.”
The other consideration is the likelihood of safety car interventions, which in the past have reduced some races to five-lap sprints. While Bewley has no real highlight memories of watching Bathurst in the past, there is a strong family connection to Bathurst folklore. His father Dwayne is infamously
known for pushing his Peugeot 405 Supertourer over the finish line in the 1997 Bathurst 1000 after the engine expired.
“Even though I wasn’t born then, I heard about it a lot when I was young, and it still comes up today. Hopefully I won’t be doing the same!” he quipped.
Assisting Bewley with his Australian Porsche campaign are Porsche New Zealand and Earl Bamber Motorsport, along with Dura-Seal, Clipped Assist, NAPA, Tony Quinn Foundation, Adtorque Edge and, for Bathurst, QuayStreet Investment Management.
Header Image: Supplied
