Richie Stanaway has described controversial Boost Mobile CEO Peter Adderton and compatriot Greg Murphy as ‘instrumental’ in landing the most sought-after Bathurst co-drive in the Supercar pit lane.
Stanaway, who will co-drive with Shane van Gisbergen for Triple Eight Race Engineering at the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 long-distance races in 2023, praised Adderton for his continued support following the New Zealander’s time away from the sport.
“I want to thank Boost Mobile and Peter Adderton for their support, as well as Greg Murphy who I drove with last year,” Stanaway said.
“They’ve been instrumental in getting me back on the right track which has led to this opportunity. I also want to thank the team at Triple Eight for putting their faith in me and giving me this amazing opportunity.”
Stanaway drove an Erebus ZB Commodore with Boost Mobile backing to 11th in the 2022 Repco Bathurst 1000 with fellow Kiwi Greg Murphy. It was four-time winner Murphy’s first drive at Mount Panorama since 2014, with Stanaway having last competed there in 2019.
Stanway impressed by making the Top 10 Shootout, which was cancelled for the first time in Bathurst history, which saw him secure fifth in the grid for Murphy, who started the race.“It was quite a big ask to come back last year and take on the primary driver role, obviously because I hadn’t been racing much over the last three years. It’s given me confidence having done that now and stepping into this co-driver role,” Stanaway said.
“It’s quite refreshing going from having to do the primary driving last year at Bathurst with minimal preparation to having a co-driver role without being in a car a lot of the time.”
Stanaway unceremoniously exited Supercars at the end of 2019, the then-28-year-old ‘retiring’ from Supercars following a season at Garry Rogers Motorsport in which he replaced Garth Tander. The move to GRM followed another messy departure from Tickford Racing 12 months earlier, with Adderton later admitting that Stanaway’s arrival at GRM was likely premature and something the Boost Mobile owner says he now regrets.
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