TIM Blanchard could cede his place on the Repco Bathurst 1000 grid next year pending recruit Aaron Love’s early progress in a Supercar.
The Blanchard Racing Team is expanding with the establishment of an entry for Love in the 2023 Dunlop Super2 Series.
The Western Australian product utterly dominated Porsche Carrera Cup Australia this year, winning 11 races and almost taking the title despite missing a quarter of the season through international commitments.
Blanchard has confirmed to V8 Sleuth that Love is in the hunt to co-drive with Todd Hazelwood in the Gen3 CoolDrive Mustang at Sandown and Bathurst.
“We’ll see how he goes for the first (Super2) event or two next year but the plan is definitely to have him in a car at Bathurst,” he said.
“Which way we do that and how we do that, we have just got to work that out.”
The somewhat cagey nature of that phrasing might indicate the exploration of other options, whether that’s a wildcard or loaning him to a rival team to gain experience.
Blanchard has competed in the Great Race every year since 2011, with ninth his best result.
He knows he has got a special talent in his ranks in the form of Love.
“We have been obviously watching him pretty closely this year,” said Blanchard.
“The way he dominated at Tailem Bend and Sandown it was pretty clear for us and then he went to Bathurst and Gold Coast and was clearly faster than the field.
“It has been a while since someone has dominated the Porsche series like that, so it fills us with a lot of confidence to put him in a car for next year.
“I think mentally he is very strong so we’re really excited to see how he performs in the Super2 Series.
“It’s a tough round going to Newcastle for your first spin in a Supercar so he definitely will be thrown in the deep end but that’s all part of it.”
Two of the most recent drivers to transition from Carrera Cup to Super2, Matt Payne and Cameron Hill, have both secured main game seats for 2023 after just a single season in the second tier.
BRT is targeting 2024 as the season to grow its Repco Supercars Championship program to two cars.
