Matt Stone Racing’s newest driver Jaylyn Robotham has been on the team’s radar for a long time and in 2023 he will finally race a Supercar for them.
The one-time Supercars race starter will share the #34 Truck Assist Camaro with Cameron Hill at the iconic Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 events later this year.
The announcement arrived just days after Robotham took part in a Gen3 test session with the team’s full-time drivers Hill and Jack Le Brocq, plus the previously signed co-driver Jayden Ojeda.
However, Matt Stone Racing has had its eye on Robotham for much longer than just the recent weeks.
Team CEO Matt Stone said the connection has been going for four years and the time is right to elevate the 20-year-old Victorian to an endurance seat.
“We have sort of followed his career for a while now and we have him an evaluation day back in 2019 in our ZB Commodore,” he told AUTO ACTION.
“We have watched him from the sidelines and we have had a history of running Bathurst debutantes or youngsters.
“This year we wanted to stay in line with our modus operandi of supporting young talent, but at the same time we did not want to take the risk on a Bathurst virgin, so he fits the criteria very well.
“He did a very solid job last year and did not put a foot wrong with a clear head, so we are pretty happy with where he is at and is a good fit.”
Jaylyn Robotham will share the #35 Camaro with Cam Hill.
Having won at Super2 level last year and put in a clean drive to P17 with Matt Chahda in the Caltex wildcard at the 2022 Bathurst 1000, Robotham has been enhancing his diverse range of racing.
Despite not returning to the Dunlop Series this year, he has stayed racing fit both domestically and overseas.
He has taken part in the first two rounds of the Trans Am season and currently sits eighth in the championship after collecting a podium finish at Tasmania.
Robotham has even raced overseas in Thailand and won a Super GTC Class race driving a Mustang in the nation’s Super Series.
These recent experiences helped the youngster be ready to go when he was given an unexpected test with MSR and he took it with both hands.
With versatility a key trait to mastering the new and unique Gen3 machinery, Stone said Robotham’s seat time was a major factor behind the youngster’s elevation.
“For us it was all about seat time,” he said.
“Within reason we don’t care what you are racing, as long as you are getting out there and racing.
“Doing the TA2 Series here and racing in Asia certainly fits that criteria, while he has also done a little bit of Super2.
“Although he is obviously sitting out of Super2 this year to explore other avenues, we were happy he was still doing enough mileage to do the job properly.
“These all factored into being positive from our point of view.”
With the new Gen3 cars being nothing like their predecessors, Stone said it was critical to give both of his co-drivers an early feel of what life was like behind the wheel at the recent test.
He also said the team used the session so it can head to Darwin with a better understanding of what makes the Camaros tick.
“It was good to start the learning with our co-drivers early because outside of the main drivers and a few exceptions testing the prototypes, no one has really driven these cars,” Stone said.
“This allowed the co-drivers to start the learning process of how to drive a Gen3 Supercar earlier than normal.
“Now after having these cars for a handful of rounds, we try things at the track and learn as we go, so it was nice to have a test day just to validate and solidify some of those learnings.
“It gives us the chance just to continue to get a handle on the new equipment and how to make it do what we want it to do.”
For more of the latest motorsport news, pick up the recent issue of AUTO ACTION.
If you can’t get a copy locally, you can also subscribe to the print or digital edition of the magazine here.
PODCAST: The latest episode of the Auto Action RevLimiter podcast is out now!
Andrew Clarke and Auto Action’s Bruce Williams and ARG’s Barry Rogers sat down for a candid chat ahead of the SpeedSeries trip to Winton.
AUTO ACTION, Australia’s independent voice of motorsport.