Fogg will drive the black and gold V8 fastback at the Repco Bathurst 1000 support on October 9-12 before the Penrite Oils Sandown 500 on November 14-16.
Fogg has the lap record for Touring Car Masters at the Mountain. However, there is very little chance he’ll do the same this year due to category-mandated restrictions.
“Any chance you get to race at Bathurst is obviously very much a bucket list thing for Kiwis and Aussies – actually, for car racing people around the world,” said Fogg.
“So I feel very, very lucky to be able to go and do it again.
“Last time out we reached 300 km/h down Conrod Straight. This year, TCM have been very vocal that we’re not allowed to be doing 300-plus, so all the Kiwi cars are rev-limited and diff-mandated to about 285 km/h max.
“If we go any more than that, we’ll be in the naughty room. Having said that, there are no rules about how fast you can get up to that speed – so that’s what we’ve been focusing on.”
Secure your spot today.
Since its last appearance in the Combined Sedans during the Bathurst 12 Hour weekend, the car has undergone a refurbishment at Moselle Panel & Paint.
That was by necessity after crashing at the top of The Mountain when a wheel parted company at McPhillamy Park.
“It was a bit of a comedy of errors – a wheel came off at very high speeds, sheared the studs,” said Fogg.
“The things you learn along the way, I guess.
“That won’t be repeated. Hopefully it’s reliable and nothing falls off, because at Bathurst if something does go wrong, it goes wrong in a big way.
“We were unlucky, but also lucky with the incredible support we got from the Australian guys to get back going again.”
Fogg said he’s excited to race at Sandown, a circuit he’s been to before but never raced at.
“I’ve never raced there, though I went years ago as a crew member with Team Kiwi and Jason Richards,” he said.
“It’s one of Australia’s bucket list tracks because it’s fast and bumpy – and like Pukekohe, it’s not going to be there forever.
“With 35-plus muscle cars on the grid, it’s going to be quite a spectacle.”
A strong contingent of cars from New Zealand are expected to make the voyage across to Australia, with upwards of 15 cars joining the Touring Car Masters field.
Discussion about this post