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Craig Baird admits he thought twice about accepting Erebus Motorsport’s offer of a race seat at Ipswich as he prepares for his first Supercars sprint event start in a decade.
The Kiwi, who is set to turn 46 on Friday, has stepped in as a late replacement for Aaren Russell following the rookie’s exit from the team.
Baird had already been scheduled to co-drive with David Reynolds in Erebus’ lead entry in the Pirtek Enduro Cup and is also a part of the squad’s GT program.
Wary of the competitiveness of the current Supercars field, Baird needed some convincing when approached by Erebus general manager Barry Ryan about replacing Russell on Monday.
“To be perfectly honest I was a little bit standoffish towards the offer,” Baird told Speedcafe.com.
“I thought there were better options for them with younger drivers that needed a break or guys that might have had some money.
“You feel bad at 45 taking a young guy’s opportunity but what they wanted was someone a little more settled who isn’t trying to impress and forge a career.
“I’m a safe option and part of that is that it’ll give me some time to get into the rhythm of driving the car before Sandown as well.”
Having been absent from Erebus’ single test day and the Friday co-driver practice running at Winton, Baird is yet to drive the team’s Holden.
Missing last year’s Enduro Cup means he has not sampled a Supercar since October, 2014, adding to the challenge of the weekend ahead.
“I’m under no illusions that it’ll be a very tough weekend for me,” he continued.
“I’d not thought of doing a sprint round in a Supercar by myself in a long time.
“More than likely I’ll be on the back row of the grid, but if I can move it forward from there that would be a nice result.
“I’m always driving something, but to drive a Supercar at that level you’ve got to be in the things all the time.
“I’ve got no problems going up against anyone in the Supercar field in a GT car because my driving style suits the GTs and I’m in them all the time.
“It’s a totally different thing going to a sprint round compared to the enduros, where I’m always comfortable.
“I can waltz around Bathurst within a second of the race pace no problem at all just due to experience.
“But to qualify within a second of the pole time will be very difficult.”
Baird says he is yet to discuss the prospect of continuing in the Hungry Jack’s entry for the final pre-Sandown event at Sydney Motorsport Park in late August.
“We’ll get through the weekend and then talk about that,” he said.
“Sydney would probably be a better round for me because I’ll be back into some sort of rhythm.
“Going out there on Friday morning I’ll be like a fish out of water.”
