Dunlop Super2 Series leader Declan Fraser says his Triple Eight Race Engineering team is supporting him in the search for a Supercars Championship seat next year.
The 21-year-old collected back-to-back wins between Townsville and Sandown and has a 114-point advantage in the Super2 standings.
That’s despite a tangle with Thomas Maxwell in the final Sandown encounter, with the #777 able to salvage eighth after his Race 1 win a day prior.
Fraser is a regular face in the Triple Eight garages and debriefs, travelling to non-Super2 rounds to be with the team.
The close relationship with the Banyo squad also extends to support in trying to secure a Repco Supercars Championship drive in 2023.
While Red Bull Ampol Racing is locked in with Shane van Gisbergen and Broc Feeney next year, there may be opportunities elsewhere on the grid.
“They’ve been completely open and said that if I need help with anything I do then they’re more than happy to help,” said Fraser of Triple Eight.
“To have the support from them behind me, it means a lot.
“They’ve always said to me their main goal is to get me in a main game seat, wherever that may be, we’ll find out.”
Since stepping into Super2, Fraser has progressed smartly, with Shane van Gisbergen saying he is deserving of a main game seat next year.
“Firstly, it’s pretty cool to have someone like Shane even put my name and a main game seat together,” enthused Fraser.
“I’m sort of just trying to figure out what spaces are available at the moment, more than anything, and if something comes up and a team comes after me, I’d love to have a chat.
“At the moment just focussing on Super2 as much as possible.
“We really want this year to go as well as possible and just put everything we can into making sure that next year if I do move up I’ve got the best shot.
“With a team like Triple Eight behind me I feel like we’re more than capable of giving it a really good go this year.”
While the majority of seats are already spoken for or close to being so for 2023, it is worth noting that two Triple Eight customers, Team 18 and PremiAir Racing, have not yet settled on their line-ups beyond the current campaign.
One half of the Supercheap Auto wildcard at the Bathurst 1000, Fraser will partner Craig Lowndes in a Triple Eight ZB Commodore for the Great Race.
He will also perform double duties, with Round 5 of Super2 at Mount Panorama the same weekend where Fraser hopes to tighten his grip on the title.
“It’s massive, first-ever Bathurst 1000 start, doing it with my idol from growing up and a crazy team like Triple Eight with how they prepare, it’s next level,” he added.
“I know that when we get there I’m going to be fully prepared, I’ve got Lowndesy, J-Dub [Jamie Wincup, team principal/enduro driver], SVG, Garth [Tander], Broc, I’ve got everyone there to help me and the team are fully behind me.
“So when we get there I know I will be fully prepared for not only the Bathurst 1000 but also Super2 because we’re going to go there and give it a red hot crack.”
The next round of the Super2 will be at Bathurst from October 6-9, though Fraser will be in the Supercheap Auto wildcard for two more test days prior to the Great Race.
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