ANOTHER young New Zealand racer will make the move across the Tasman for 2023 with Matthew McCutcheon set to make his debut in the Dunlop Super3 Series.
The 19-year-old is the latest driver to be announced by Eggleston Motorsport, which will field a Triple Eight-built VF Commodore for McCutcheon.
A championship winner in dirt speedway at age 15, McCutcheon made the switch to circuit racing in Formula First and Formula Ford in recent years.
He finished second overall in New Zealand’s 2020/21 Formula Ford season with Shane van Gisbergen in his corner; the multiple Supercars Champion was on hand to analyse data and offer guidance as McCutcheon raced a car run by Shane’s father Robert.
McCutcheon earnt the Tony Quinn Foundation scholarship for 2022 and graduated to the Toyota 86 Racing Series, winning a race in his rookie season.
He sampled a Supercar for the first time last year at Erebus Motorsport’s ‘Who’s Next’ evaluation day at Winton in August and hopped behind the wheel of one the EMS Commodores at the same track last December.
“I am so excited to be joining Eggleston Motorsport in 2023 to race in the Super3 series,” McCutcheon said.
“I can’t thank Ben, Rachael and the team and all my supporters enough for this opportunity. It has always been a dream of mine to race in the Supercar series and this step is an amazing opportunity in achieving my goal of racing in Supercars.
“After spending time with the team at the Adelaide 500 and then again at the test at Winton a couple of weeks after I already feel at home and I am honoured to be a part of their winning team.
“I can’t wait to kick off the season at Newcastle which is coming around fast!”
EMS narrowly missed out on winning last year’s Super3 title with Kai Allen, who will graduate with the team to Super2 in 2023.
It’s a path that McCutcheon will look to follow as he pursues his dream of becoming a Supercars champion.
“In our first discussion with Matt he didn’t just say he wanted to be a Supercar driver, he said he wants to be a Supercar champion,” EMS co-owner and team manager Rachael Eggleston said.
“We know he will leave no stone unturned to get to the top level of Supercar racing in Australia and we cannot wait to be a part of helping him get there.
“Matt and his family flew to the Adelaide 500 where Matt worked with the team, he wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty and was doing everything from cleaning cars, tyre pressures, and everything in between.
“It was a great opportunity for him to learn how a race weekend in the category works and get himself ahead of the game for 2023.
“He had a test with us in December and showed real talent behind the wheel. He worked so well with the team to get faster and faster as the day went on. He has such a fantastic attitude and is just a great young guy.
“We are genuinely excited to hit the track and we are confident Matt will be a regular podium contender.”
