THE Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia 86 Series will be bolstered by Steve Owen’s inclusion as a guest driver next weekend.
The penultimate round of the 2023 one-make competition will run in support of the Sandown 500 – an event which Owen has conquered.
The 48-year-old won the prestigious Supercars endurance race in 2015 as co-driver to Mark Winterbottom, helping ‘Frosty’ and Tickford Racing ultimately secure that year’s championship.
Owen has also won main game races at the Gold Coast 600 in combination with Jamie Whincup (Triple Eight, 2010) and Chaz Mostert (Tickford, 2017).
Other career accomplishments include two Super2 titles and two Bathurst 1000 runner-up finishes; his most recent Great Race start came in 2020 for Team Sydney co-driving with Chris Pither.
Owen has long been involved in Toyota 86s as a category mentor/driver coach.
Lewis Bates will be the series’ other guest driver at Sandown.
It will be the 2022 Australian Rally Championship winner’s second Toyota 86 appearance of the season, having lined up in the Townsville season-opener.
The Sandown 500 will run across September 15-17, while the Victorian venue is playing host to a Shannons SpeedSeries round this weekend.
