Cleary has just been confirmed for a second season in Trans Am, but has also been in action in the Formula Regional Oceania Championship (FROC; nee: Toyota Racing Series) in New Zealand – as recently as the past 24 hours.
He was set to fly out of Auckland last night, touch down in Melbourne, and arrive in the vicinity of Winton in the early hours of this morning.
Of course, that will be Cleary’s second stop at Winton in a matter of days, given he was testing a Trans Am car a day before he flew out for the latest FROC round at Hampton Downs.
“I fly out on the last flight out of Auckland on Sunday night, I land in Melbourne at, like, 11 [o’clock in the evening], and then drive to Winton,” he told Speedcafe before jetting out across the Tasman last week.
“I’m really excited,” added Cleary.
Secure your spot today.
“To be able to get the opportunity to do all this driving has been really, really cool.
“Obviously Super2 as well, that’s quite a big step up for me, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
The move into Super2 is, of course, a sign of Cleary’s bigger aspirations, which would make an open-wheeler competition such as FROC, populated by young Formula 1 hopefuls, an unusual choice.
It does, however, offer plenty of track time and a chance to hone broader driving skills.
“For me, it’s just a really good way to do laps,” he explained.
“Five practice sessions, two qualifying, three races [for] five weekends straight; a big thing is the laps.
“Also, the caliber of the field. It’s quite a strong field – you get guys from Europe come over and do it – so, you really get to go up against some of the best drivers.
“Then, learning all the different tracks as well is a big challenge.
“But, one of the biggest things I did it for is just being able to adapt to such a different sort of car, and improving my skill to be able to adapt to the machinery quicker.”
The West Australian Formula Ford title winner does have some Supercars experience, in the form of a ride day in a Team 18 Camaro at Sandown last September, and miles at Winton in a VE Commodore.
On his next two days of testing in a BJR ZB Commodore, he said, “I think definitely the first day will be all about feel.
“By the second day, obviously, it’ll be then to focus on performance, to be able to roll out strong at the first round.
“Compared to the Trans Am, all the braking markers are roughly similar; it’s just going to be finding out the differences and then working on that to gain performance.”
After testing at Winton, Cleary will drive either in Round 4 of FROC at Ruapuna Park or Round 1 of Trans Am at Sandown this coming weekend, February 9-11.
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