The Blanchard Racing Team is in no rush to decide on its enduro co-driver. Picture: InSyde Media
The Blanchard Racing Team is adopting a wait-and-see approach on Todd Hazelwood’s co-driver for this year’s Supercars enduros.
Only three such rides remain vacant, even if some precise combinations are yet to be confirmed/finalised, while the appearance of Jaylyn Robotham with Truck Assist Racing at this week’s Queensland Raceway test day indicates he is a strong chance to partner Cameron Hill in Car #35.
However, with little left to play out in the co-driver market, and a Dunlop Super2 Series driver of their own who is available, BRT is in no rush to fill the vacancy in the #3 CoolDrive Mustang for Sandown and Bathurst.
“I think pretty much most seats are taken in pit lane now, so I don’t think we’re going to miss out or anything’s going to change by hanging on another two or three months,” Co-Principal Tim Blanchard told Speedcafe ahead of this week’s test in Ipswich and Winton.
“So, we can kind of just sit back and see how the season unfolds. There’s Aaron [Love] and there’s a number of other people watching and I’m still considering doing it myself, so there’s a few things we need to see how they play out over the next two months.”
Love, who tested at Winton during the week in the team’s Mustang, is third in the Super2 Series after finishing second in the most recent round of the season, at Wanneroo in April.
“Aaron’s putting his hand up and he’s doing a solid job, but we’ve only done two Super2 events and we’ve got some testing lined up for him in the coming weeks and then obviously Townsville,” said Blanchard.
“He’s doing an extremely good job but there’s still a lot more we need to see from him.”
Speaking after his round podium in Perth, Love said, “It’s definitely something that I’d really look forward to.
“If I was given that opportunity, I’d definitely be open to it.”
He added, “At the moment, we’re just trying to be focused on the job at hand, and if we do that well, then I’m sure everything will bounce back onto ourselves.”
The Super2 season resumes with Round 3 at the NTI Townsville 500 on July 7-9, while the enduros kick off with the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 on September 15-17, followed by the Repco Bathurst 1000 on October 5-8.
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