FINNISH ace Valtteri Bottas has driven classic Australian touring car and Formula 1 machinery at the Repco Adelaide Motorsport Festival.
For the second year running, Formula 1 ace Bottas was the star of the Sunday action at the popular Victoria Park event.
Having last year sampled the 2016 Bathurst 1000-winning Tekno Holden Supercar and an ex-Colin Bond Group A Alfa Romeo GTV, the 34-year-old was again eager to try different machinery.
His day started with a run in a Perkins-built VK Commodore Group A, PE 002.
That car now enjoys the rare distinction of having had three ex-F1 drivers steer it, after being raced by Larry Perkins and Denny Hulme in period.
Bottas also turned laps in a Brabham BT62 sportscar as planned, but then added a run in a Leyton House CG891 F1 car as he soaked up the bustling event.
“It is good fun,” he said of experiencing classic machinery at the Adelaide festival.
“It’s obviously so different to what I’m racing nowadays, but it’s always nice to get a bit of a glimpse as to how it was back in the day.”
As for his laps in the VK Commodore, Bottas gave a simple summary.
“Good power,” he said. “Not much (grip), but that means fun.”
Bottas makes regular trips to South Australia as his partner, professional cyclist Tiffany Cromwell, is from Adelaide.
He’ll now turn his attention to next weekend’s Australian F1 Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne.
Adelaide organisers have meanwhile confirmed their event will return on March 1-2 next year, which hints at a March 6-9 date for the 2025 Australian Grand Prix.
Other F1 personalities to attend the 2024 Adelaide festival included 1996 world champion Damon Hill, ex-Haas boss Guenther Steiner, Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson and Sky Sports commentator David Croft.
