IT took four months for Dunlop Series young gun Ryan Gilroy to receive medical clearance after being knocked around by a Bathurst crash.
The 22-year-old from Singleton battled ongoing concussion effects following a practice smash last October that abruptly ended his Super3 rookie campaign.
Now an injury to Zane Morse has opened the door for Gilroy to return to AIM Motorsport, but up a level.
As first reported by V8 Sleuth, he’ll make his Super2 debut aboard the Adam DeBorre-engineered #11 Mustang next week at Wanneroo Raceway in Western Australia.
“It all came together pretty quickly,” said Gilroy.
“Obviously I was itching to get back in the seat, and when I got the call from the AIM Motorsport crew, I jumped at the opportunity.
“We did the deal on Monday (last week), and on Friday I was in the car at Winton for a test day.”
Reflecting on the Bathurst hiccup, Gilroy said: “The doctors wouldn’t clear me to return for the race weekend.
“I spent Thursday night in Orange Hospital, and it turned out to be a bit of a big hit to the ol’ brain – I actually didn’t get medically cleared until early February 2024.
“I spent four weeks with minimal brain stimulation, no phone, no driving and no exercise, to help the recovery process, and then just eased back into normal life.
“I’m back training now and driving my road car, and to get back in the race car last week was just awesome.”
AIM will streamline its efforts to a two-car program for Perth, with Jett Johnson staying in the #117 entry while James Masterton sits out.
“I’m excited to get back to Perth. It was my strongest track last year and after a challenging Round 1 at Bathurst, I’ll be pulling my finger out to get some better results,” said Johnson.
“The biggest focus for me in Perth is qualifying – getting a good lap in qualifying means I can keep out of the carnage and be able to race towards the front.
“I’ve got such good support from the team, that I’m confident that we’ll be making big steps forward each session.”
Entering Round 2, Johnson sits 15th of 23 drivers in the Super2 standings.
