STEVEN Richards drove for many iconic Supercars teams, and could have finished his career by adding one more to the list in 2021.
That’s the revelation made by the five-time Bathurst 1000 winner on the V8 Sleuth Podcast powered by Parramatta Toyota.
Richards’ maiden Great Race came with Gibson Motorsport in 1995, and resulted in a fine fourth-place finish alongside Anders Olofsson.
Various returns to the Mountain came with the likes of Garry Rogers Motorsport, Stone Brothers Racing, Perkins Engineering, Ford Performance Racing and Triple Eight.
A wildcard deal with Walkinshaw Andretti United – the operation formerly known as the Holden Racing Team – was later explored but didn’t come to fruition.
After winning the 2018 Bathurst 1000 with Craig Lowndes, Richards was shuffled out of Triple Eight as it downscaled from three cars to two.
Richards subsequently signed with Team 18 on a two-year deal to reunite with long-time teammate Mark Winterbottom there, but hung up the helmet after their run to sixth in 2019 in order to take a full-time role as the squad’s relationships manager.
The strain attached to the COVID-19 pandemic put paid to that chapter however, with Richards among those to lose their jobs as budgets tightened.
“I’d sacrificed a two-year deal to help Charlie (Schwerkolt) manage his sponsorship program,” Richards reflected to host Aaron Noonan.
“So I was supposed to drive in 2020 but I didn’t do that, because I was looking for that next step out of driving but still in motorsport, and that was the opportunity that was presented.
“So I canned 2020… but also everyone had got their drivers sorted.
“So I kind of went back and put my hand up for ’21 and there was something that Walkinshaw were looking to do with a wildcard with Jack (Perkins). But it never eventuated.
“Then I think from that point on, I didn’t really try too hard because I wasn’t driving full-time.
“The last thing I wanted to do, if I did get the opportunity, was go and do a poor job because I wasn’t doing enough driving.”
As it turned out, Perkins was announced in February 2021 as Will Brown’s co-driver at Erebus Motorsport, while WAU was perhaps rewarded for its streamlined focus as Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth conquered Mount Panorama that December.
Richards’ Bathurst 1000 starts tally meanwhile officially ended at 27.
He has continued to make sporadic appearances in the historic racing scene, and has returned to the Supercars paddock this year working with the Blanchard Racing Team’s Aaron Cameron.
Steven Richards (right) with Aaron Cameron at the Townsville 500. Pic: Ross Gibb