Jesse Dixon says he is delighted to have ‘won’ his first entry into the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.
Dixon will compete alongside Cameron Waters in the #23 Commodore after winning the second-running of the reality television show the Shannons Supercar Showdown.
The combination of Waters, 18, and Dixon, 19, will be the youngest-ever combined age pairing.
The Queenslander was the last driver standing in the sudden death competition, which saw 11 motorsport rookies from Australia, New Zealand and America compete over 11 weeks for a position on the starting grid of the Bathurst 1000.
The final ‘fastest time wins’ challenge saw Dixon the execute the fastest lap around Winton Raceway, narrowly pipping Victorian Glen Wood and New Zealander Andre Heimgartner.
Dixon was ecstatic with the win, mentioning his late father as inspiration to fulfil his lifelong dream.
“Words cannot describe the emotions, I’ve won! I’m just over the moon,” he said.
“Bathurst, it’s a dream come true. I’ve been dreaming about racing Bathurst ever since I was a kid.
“Towards the end of my dad’s illness, my mum told me that she would help me get in to karting and after months and months of just no positivity, it put a smile on my face.
“This means everything to me. Losing dad just before I started was really hard, to now be a V8 Supercars driver racing at Bathurst, it’s something I’ve always dreamed about”.
Kelly Racing co-owner Rick Kelly believes Dixon’s conscientious work ethic will put him in good stead for Bathurst.
“He puts so much effort in to this racing, you can see how it takes priority for Jesse over everything else,” he said.
“He’s a young guy going to Bathurst for the very first time and it’s a very tough ask, so the work he’s going to put in is really going to help him, if he remains focused he can go up there and do a fantastic job at Mount Panorama.”
The #23 entry is a Walkinshaw Racing-built Commodore and will be prepared by Minda Motorsport.
