MWM to field Toyota 86 front-runner in Super3

Burcher ended last year’s Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia 86 Series in third position in the standings with two round wins and four race wins in a Sieders Racing Team entry, including the finale on the Sunday morning of the Bathurst 1000 weekend.

He will now link with the team which has won the Super2 Series four times, driving a Nissan Altima.

“Being from Orange, half an hour away from Mount Panorama, to jump into a V8 Supercar has always been a dream,” he told Speedcafe.

“So, to make that first step towards doing that in the Super3 Series with Matt White Motorsport is super-exciting.

“All you’ve got to do is look at the results that the team and Matthew have produced over the last five, 10 years.

“They’ve got a massive wealth of knowledge and I’m looking forward to working with them.

“Obviously, they know a lot of stuff, they can relay that in the correct way, and obviously they want to win just as much as I do, so it’s very exciting.”

Burcher was among the contingent to sample a Gen2-spec ZB Commodore when Walkinshaw Andretti United held an Evaluation Day in October.

He believes the 86s are a good platform for the step up but is not underestimating the task of competing in a Supercars series.

“You want to do the best job you can straight out of the box, but I’m looking forward to the challenge,” said the 20-year-old.

“Obviously, going from a four-cylinder to V8, and wings and slicks from a road radial that we had in the 86s, I’m sure it’ll be a challenge but I’m looking forward to it.

“Like I said, I’ve got the best team around me to help the transition into that.

“The 86s being such a competitive class that it is last year really helped me fine-tune a lot of things and I’m sure I’ll fine-tune a lot of things.

“Being so close [in 86] as well – two or three tenths split across the field – that obviously shows it’s very similar to Super2 and Super3, so I think it’s a very good grounding to jump into the Supercars.

“I’m really looking forward to the challenge and there’s plenty of work to do between now and then to hit the ground running.”

Burcher will test in early-February at Winton before Round 1 at the Thrifty Bathurst 500 later that month.