• Kiwi Richie Stanaway gets His Own Supercars Ride for 2018

    Richie Stanaway has been retained to become a full-time Supercars driver next season after an outstanding second season as a co-driver.

    It was a long-standing dream of his to become a full-time driver on Australia’s premier racing circuit, so Christmas came early for the young Kiwi this year.

    Prodrive Racing Australia will have Stanaway, as he joins four other Kiwis who have done well in Supercars, Shane van Gisbergen, Scott McLaughlin, Andrew Heimgarter and Fabian Coulthard.

    The 26-year-old Stanaway has a multi-year deal with Prodrive and will eagerly await the start of the 2018 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship when it jumps in Adelaide in early March.

    He has been proving his abilities over 2016 and 2017 as the co-driver on the Super Black Racing Team.

    Along with his teammate Cameron Waters (more proof that being named Cameron is key to southern hemisphere sporting success), the won on debut at the Sandown 500 in September, led many laps at the Bathurst 1000 and ran second at the Gold Coast 600 October past.

    Stanaway seems like one of those sorts that would say, “If it has wheels, I can drive it,” as he has been behind the wheel in several different categories, including single-seaters, sports cars and touring cars. He has driven at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and won races in the World Endurance Championship, Formula 2 and GP3.

    Stanaway told news outlets, “Obviously it’s good to have everything ready,” said Stanaway, who will pilot the No. 56 Ford Falcon FG X in 2018. “It’s been coming along for a while, but it’s good to finally have the deal done. It’s been a childhood dream for me to race in Supercars, so it’s great to check that off the bucket list.”

    Stanaway admits that he has some learning to do, so far as racing full-time on Supercars is concerned. “The first objective is always just to get into the series,” he said.