Hazelwood made the off-season move from Erebus to DJR with his Bathurst 1000-winning partner Brodie Kostecki in a bid to defend their Great Race title.
The DJR deal is somewhat of a dream come true for the lifelong Ford fan, although he admits being part of a powerhouse team comes with its challenges.
One is the simple integration with the staff, Hazelwood actively spending time at the DJR workshop now to ensure he doesn’t feel like a stranger when it comes to The Bend and Bathurst later this year.
“I’m just trying to immerse myself into the team as much as possible,” Hazelwood told the On The Grid podcast.
“Like I was there [on Tuesday], just in the morning, just to pop my head in, say g’day, and just trying to learn everyone’s name.
“There’s a lot of people in the team. It’s the biggest team I’ve ever been involved with, 40-odd heads running around like minions. It’s seriously impressive.
“I just don’t want to be a stranger when I rock up at enduros. Especially as a co-driver, it’s really hard to create that team morale that the main drivers normally have. Everyone knows each other on a first name basis, or on a nickname basis, and are back slapping and high-fiving.
“You want to be a part of that. You don’t want to be the guy that feels like you’re just sort of awkwardly sitting in the corner waiting for his turn.”
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