Richie Stanaway believes this season will be a ‘make or break’ year as he looks to forge his way into the reckoning for a future main game Supercars seat.
The highly-rated New Zealander is set to return to the category this year after being confirmed as Cameron Waters’ co-driver for the upcoming Pirtek Enduro Cup in the #6 Prodrive Ford Falcon.
Since graduating from Australian Formula Ford in 2009, Stanaway has proven himself on the world stage winning titles in German Formula Masters and Formula 3.
The Kiwi has also enjoyed success in GP3, Formula Renault, GP2 and more recently the FIA World Endurance Championship, driving for the factory Aston Martin squad.
Having competed in some of the world’s biggest series, Stanaway says breaking into the main game remains his priority for the next stage of his career.
The 25-year-old helped his Supercars cause last season with an impressive Pirtek Enduro Cup debut driving alongside Chris Pither in the Super Black Racing Falcon.
Stanaway is shifting even more focus towards a career in Supercars having elected to scale back his FIA WEC commitments to just three events at Silverstone, Spa and the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours.
“I’d love to race here (in Supercars) full-time,” Stanaway, who helped launched Waters’ Monster Energy Falcon, told Speedcafe.com.
“It could be make or break this year (with regard to my Supercars future).
“It is the one series in the world I would choose to race in if I had the choice.
“That is why I will try and do my best this year and do a good job and hopefully something comes up.
“This is the series that interests me the most and it is the only one I really follow.
“It is always hard to stand out as a co-driver but I was lucky at Sandown last year because of unique circumstances, and I was able to make a good impression.”
Looking ahead to the Pirtek Enduro Cup, Stanaway is eager to build on this positive start to his Supercars career to further boost his stock in the paddock.
“The goal from last year was to do a good enough job and not make mistakes and get invited back,” Stanaway added.
“I was able to get the drive back so I’m looking forward to this year.
“Last year was pretty tough having never raced a Supercar before and I rolled up to Bathurst also having never driven there before.
“I’m feeling a lot more comfortable about the idea of going back this year.
“I am just trying to build on last year and focus on being nice and consistent as a co-driver.”
Stanaway’s first Pirtek Enduro Cup commitment will be the Wilson Security Sandown 500 from September 15-17.
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