Mackay’s motorsport rising star Declan Fraser made his V8 Supercars debut last weekend in the Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama.
22-year-old Declan was the Triple Eight wildcard entry in this year’s Bathurst 1000, racing alongside his childhood idol Craig Lowndes.
The dynamic duo led the race at points throughout the day, ultimately finishing eighth, the highest-ever finish for a wildcard entrant.
“It’s sort of surreal, that it’s all over so quickly,” Declan said.
“It’s been a massive build-up over the past couple of months to get to the race and then in one day, it’s all over.
“I learnt a lot and had an amazing time and to come around with a history-making result is pretty cool.”
Declan currently leads the 2022 Dunlop Super2 Series but had been focusing on Bathurst 1000 preparations for months leading into the race, with physical training ramping up in preparation for longer sprints than he’s used to in Super2.
“For me, it was just making sure that I was mentally and also physically fit,” he said.
“By the end of the day, I was feeling fantastic, and I was just glad that we could blast the whole race, stay in the lead lap and come home with a strong result.”
With his driving partner Craig Lowndes having experienced Mount Panorama so many times, Declan said he had a wealth of knowledge to share both on and off the track.
“He taught me a lot about the car balance throughout the day as the track progressed,” he said.
“It was a very weird track this year … because we had so much rain the day prior, it was basically going out on a fresh track like being out on practice one.
“For me, it was just making sure that I knew exactly what to do and he was really, really helpful in making sure that I went out there with the most knowledge and knew exactly what to do.”
Craig also shared advice on how to handle the hype of the event.
“It’s such a big event for fans and the teams and everything, so he was really instrumental in making sure I was mentally prepped and not too drained from the outside influences,” Declan said.
Currently in the lead of the Super2 Series, Declan has one final race for the 2022 series in Adelaide in early December.
“To tell you the truth, I’m already prepping now,” he said.
“We’ve got six weeks of full prep to make sure we can round out the championship and come home with a win.”
Image: Declan Fraser finished eighth in the Bathurst 1000, driving alongside legend Craig Lowndes. Photos supplied
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