{"id":886276,"date":"2026-09-10T00:22:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T00:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/886276\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T00:22:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T00:22:19","slug":"supercars-richie-stanaways-change-of-pace-blanchard-racing-team-excitement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/886276\/","title":{"rendered":"Supercars: Richie Stanaway’s change of pace, Blanchard Racing Team excitement"},"content":{"rendered":"

RICHIE Stanaway has made peace with his full-time Supercars driving career seemingly ending, branding his new lifestyle a \u201crefreshing\u201d change.<\/p>\n

A prodigal talent who won races in GP2 (i.e. Formula 2) and the World Endurance Championship (in class), Stanaway became Supercars\u2019 ultimate enigma in a stop-start journey.<\/p>\n

Starring co-driving performances including to win the 2017 Sandown 500 with Cam Waters<\/a> and 2023 Bathurst 1000 with Shane van Gisbergen didn\u2019t translate into cold, hard consistent results as a primary driver.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, he bounced around between Tickford Racing, Garry Rogers<\/a> Motorsport, Grove Racing and PremiAir Racing \u2013 all in one-year stints \u2013 showing occasional flashes of brilliance especially in wet conditions.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

For a time, it seemed Stanaway might not return to the 2026 field even for the enduros, before the Kiwi signed with the Blanchard Racing Team to partner his buddy James Golding<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first time I drove the car at Sydney, I was pretty impressed with how it felt and then obviously they went out and qualified 1-2<\/a> which I guess confirmed why I thought it felt pretty good!\u201d Stanaway told V8 Sleuth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe team is still relatively new. It\u2019s not like most teams where they just change ownership; it was started from scratch so this would be the youngest team by a long way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good time to be here where they\u2019re starting to find performance and hopefully in the enduros we can get the CoolDrive car right up the front.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stanaway lauded the BRT environment, indicated he\u2019s unlikely to return to the GT racing scene, and spoke to his new life that has involved working on a range of projects.<\/p>\n

\"\"The new-look CoolDrive Mustang which Richie Stanaway<\/a> will share with James Golding. Pic: Supplied\/Race Project<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly by next year I\u2019ll have a clearer idea (of a set direction),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a refreshing lifestyle change for me.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re a driver, you spend a lot of time in limbo and you don\u2019t have much control. Really other than training and working on your fitness, you can\u2019t have much influence on things.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sort of spend a lot of time waiting. It\u2019s nice to have a bit of a pace change\u2026 but it\u2019s also nice to come back and still be a part of racing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supercars action at the AirTouch 500 at The Bend starts Friday.<\/p>\n

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