18 year-old Zach Bates heads to Mount Panorama well in contention for the 2022 Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia 86 series.
Bates, who is of stellar racing pedigree and is fast rising as yet another success in the Bates production line, is cousins with Harry and Lewis Bates, who are dominating the ARC rally scene, with his father Rick and Uncle Neal both major rally event winners.
Young Bates sits 112 points off series leader Lachlan Gibbons after a four win season has him second in the standings.
Bates’ last outing at Bathurst saw him come unstuck in Race 3 after winning Races 1 and 2, before a DNF wiped him out of the clean sweep in pushing for a pass, showing that the unexpected can always happen on The Mountain.
“That’s the nature of this series. One mistake can really impact your championship,” says Bates.
“So we’ll learn from that and get back on the Mountain this weekend and continue to push hard.”
A busy 2022 for Zach Bates has seen him foster hopes for Super2 start next season. Photo: Jack Martin Photography Captured at 2022 Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour on 20220514 by Jack Martin Photography.
For the Canberran prodigy, 2022 can be fairly classed as a formative year for his future aspirations, with an experience testing in a Supercar at Winton with Erebus Motorsport, and a podium third against a very strong Trans Am national field, which also included a P4 and a P5.
“We are really hoping to step up into the Dunlop Super 2 series next year, but you can’t get too far ahead of yourself, “ Bates continued.
“It’s all about Bathurst this weekend, and making sure the car set-up is right to secure a solid qualifying time, so we are out front for the chase for the title.”
Bates also secured pole position last time out to go with his two wins, showing that the kid can certainly handle himself on The Mountain.
Jobe Steward also remains a chance if results fall his way, sitting 180 points in arrears of the current leader, with Jarrod Hughes and Play Richards not far being in fourth and fifth.
Qualifying for the 86’s starts early on Friday morning, with Race 1 starting at 1230, followed by Race 2 at 1450 on the Saturday, and Sunday’s Race 3 at 0905 on the Sunday in the lead up to the ‘Great Race’.
