JAXON Evans’ upcoming Repco Bathurst 1000 debut might be just the start of his time in the Supercars spotlight.
The New Zealand-born, Gold Coast-raised 26-year-old will co-drive with Brad Jones Racing’s Jack Smith at Mount Panorama, where practice will kick off in little more than a fortnight.
Manhandling a ZB Commodore Supercar is a significantly different challenge to the Porsches he’s used to steering abroad.
Cutting laps at Winton Motor Raceway on Monday and Tuesday this week was the first step to getting to grips with the #4 SCT Logistics Holden.
“It was really good to get some laps under the belt, get familiar with everything and what does what and where everything is in terms of the ergonomics of the car itself, and learning how the team works, how Jack operates, the engineer and things like that,” Evans told V8 Sleuth.
“It was really positive. I was really happy by the end of the two days.
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“The car is certainly a different beast but it was a lot of fun. It’s been almost four years since I last drove a Supercar but it was everything that I remember.
“Even after a fair few laps on Monday and Tuesday, I certainly don’t feel like I’m at a super competitive level as such.
“It’s still going to take some time to get used to but a lot of practice at Bathurst will hopefully speed that up. The main thing was just to feel comfortable straightaway.”
Evans’ previous seat time in a Supercar came via a Walkinshaw Andretti United evaluation day in 2018 after he’d sealed the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia title.
He’s long been committed to the Porsche pyramid pathway but is keen for his Supercars cameo to be more than a one-off.
“Supercars is certainly something that I would definitely look at doing maybe further on in my career, or if I wanted to come home from Europe,” Evans said.
“To get some experience will be great and it’s certainly a bucket list race that I’m excited to get on top of.”
Evans’ close mate and Porsche colleague Matt Campbell has made a habit of racing in the Bathurst 1000; he’ll make his fourth start in the event when he joins Grove Racing’s David Reynolds this time around.
“When the calendars line up it is certainly a great event that I’d love to keep doing in the future,” Evans continued.
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“So to have some experience this year when my calendar isn’t super busy in Europe at the moment, it was nice to be able to commit to it straightaway and go from there.
“Hopefully it is something that can continue in the future.”
Evans laughed there’ll be plenty of banter with Campbell at The Mountain but he is laser-focused on making a good impression on his own terms.
“As a co-driver it’s not your championship, it’s not really your place to go and make a mistake,” he said.
“So as much as I want to go there for just the experience, at the same time I still want to do a good job for the team and for Jack and hopefully get a good result or at least make the finish.
“The last thing I want to do is go out and make a mistake, especially early on in the weekend.
“Obviously experience will be one box that needs to be ticked but at the same time I want to do a good job so that the team is happy with their decision to have me in the car and also it’s maybe appealing to other teams in the future.”
