POPULAR Supercars pitlane reporter Riana Crehan will make her broadcast return at this weekend’s Sandown 500.
Crehan’s last event appearance was at the Tasmania SuperSprint in May before stepping back temporarily in anticipation of the birth of her and husband Will Davison’s first child.
Their son, Dash, was born in early July.
Crehan is one of two familiar faces who’ll be back on television screens at Sandown, the other being Greg Murphy.
“If I’m being totally honest, I’m nervous, that’s for sure,” Crehan told V8 Sleuth.
“It’s been a whirlwind 10 weeks since Dash came into the world and as much as my head has been following Supercars and obviously keeping a close eye on what goes on with Will and everything, I have very much been in Mum mode for 10 weeks.
“Definitely there is a little bit of apprehension to come back and a bit of nerves but also excitement as well.
“My world has completely changed since he arrived and it’s exciting that as a family, we get to work in the same industry.
“I have to keep thinking that it’s a pretty special time for Will and I, that we can look back on in years to come and talk about how us as a family got to travel around and do what we love.”
She had been targeting a Sandown return as the season goes into overdrive.
“It really is the pointy end of the championship now where things start to get pretty serious,” said Crehan.
“So hopefully I can slot right in to my pitlane role and not make too many mistakes with the Mum brain that I have got going on at the moment… and sort of beg for a bit of forgiveness from the fans!
“I’m a first time Mum and it’s my first time being there with a baby who is only 10 weeks old, it’s going to be a juggle. We’re going to do our best and see how it goes.”
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Crehan added she enjoyed observing the broadcast from a different perspective in recent months.
“When we’re in the lane, things are very chaotic and busy and there’s so much noise and there’s so many things to be focused on, whether that’s the commentary in our ears, the producers in our ears, what’s happening in the lane, cars going past,” she said.
“It’s trying to feel the emotion in the garages, looking around at everything that’s happening. There’s so much that you’re taking in and you’re trying to tell the story of what’s going on.
“Obviously when you’re sitting on the couch, everything is a lot easier and calm.
“Certainly everyone in the broadcast is always trying to find ways to be able to improve and tell stories and just picking up on little things.
“It has been nice to just be a bit of a passenger and watch and not get caught up in all that, but I’m looking forward to jumping back in and being part of a really exciting time in the championship.”
The live television broadcast of the Sandown 500, running this Friday to Sunday, is exclusive to Fox Sports/Kayo Sports.
SEN will provide live radio coverage of the race, led by Aaron Noonan on-air from 2-6pm AEST on Sunday.
V8 Sleuth’s coverage of the 2023 Penrite Oil Sandown 500 is proudly presented by Biante – Fuel your passion with winning model cars. Visit Biante here to check out their range of model cars in a range of scales from 1:64 to 1:10.
