Bailey Sweeny is back on the national scene and will make a long-awaited Dunlop Series debut by steering an Image Racing Super3 VF Commodore at Bathurst.
Sweeny will drive the #4 VF Commodore that Tony Auddino raced at Wanneroo when the Dunlop Series arrives at Mount Panorama in October.
It is a big moment for the 21-year-old, who has had a quiet 2024 after stepping away from TCR Australia.
In the space of just two years Sweeny became one of the stars of TCR, taking six wins for HMO Customer Racing.
After falling just short of the TCR title last year, Sweeny has only done a handful of races including the RX8 Cup and Jeremy Hodges Memorial Excel race.
But since he left TCR, he has had his sights set on the Dunlop Series and the chance has finally arrived for the penultimate round of the season.
“I am very excited to announce I will be racing Super3 with Image Racing at the Bathurst 1000,” Sweeny said.
“It has been a bit quiet for myself in the motorsport world but we have been working hard behind the scenes. I have been racing a few categories throughout the year.”
Sweeny has already got accustomed to the VF Commodore by staging a test day this week at a sunny Phillip Island and was encouraged by the start.
“I have just wrapped up an awesome day of testing at Phillip Island. The VF Commodore was an absolute weapon and I learnt lots of new things,” he said.
“I feel like we are in good shape heading into Bathurst and I can’t wait to hit the track.”
The addition of Sweeny is a much needed one for both driver and category.
In two of the three rounds so far, Cody Burcher and Thomas Maxwell have been the only Super3 competitors racing amongst themselves.
The only exception was Perth when Auddino made a one-off appearance to bring the third tier to a three-car field.
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