{"id":926463,"date":"2026-10-13T09:30:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T09:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/926463\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T09:30:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T09:30:16","slug":"canberras-v8-supercars-rookie-zach-bates-put-everything-on-the-line-for-bathurst-1000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/926463\/","title":{"rendered":"Canberra’s V8 Supercars rookie Zach Bates ‘put everything on the line’ for Bathurst 1000"},"content":{"rendered":"

Canberran Zach Bates “still can’t believe” he finished third at the Bathurst 1000 on Sunday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It was the rookie’s second time competing in the iconic race at Mount Panorama, where he started in pole position after topping Saturday’s Top 10 Shootout<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“I never thought in my wildest dreams that I’d be starting on pole for the great race. That was unbelievable,” Bates said.<\/p>\n

“I knew I had to put everything on the line.”\"Five<\/p>\n

Zach Bates (far right) took pole position after the Top Ten Shootout at the Bathurst 1000. (Supplied: Matt Stone Racing)<\/p>\n

The Canberra local is the son of former rally and Supercars driver Rick Bates, and the nephew of four-time Australian Rally champion Neal Bates.<\/p>\n

His father Rick Bates said he “knew Zach had it in him”, and added the 22-year-old had a “very good feel for a car”.<\/p>\n

“He’s pretty determined, and he does push it, which you need to,” Rick Bates said.<\/p>\n

“All those drivers, they’re the top 25 drivers in Australia, and you’ve got to be on your A-game when you turn up.”\"A<\/p>\n

Rick Bates says a driver has to bring their A-game to the Bathurst 1000. (ABC News)<\/p>\n

The rookie’s surprise success comes after his mother and motorsport broadcaster Alison Drower died from cancer weeks before his Bathurst 1000 debut last year, in which he finished tenth.<\/p>\n

The young driver said his mother’s death was “incredibly difficult to take”.<\/p>\n

“[It] definitely gave me a bit of fire in my belly to get up every morning and try and do the best that I can,” Bates said.’Decent talent’ in Canberra<\/p>\n

Bates became a petrol head when he started recreational go-karting at the age of 10.<\/p>\n

\"Zach<\/p>\n

Zach Bates says go-kart racing acts as a gateway for young people to get into motorsports. (Getty Images: Daniel Kalisz)<\/p>\n

To some in the racing dynasty, that is considered late, as some young drivers reach for the go-kart wheel as young as six years old.<\/p>\n

Go-karting, alongside simulation racing, has long acted as a gateway for young people to get involved in Canberra’s racing scene.<\/p>\n

“We all went through the go-karting stage, that’s how you get into the sport. It’s the way all the young kids come through,” Bates said.<\/p>\n

“It’s a special part of your life because it’s just usually your mum and dad getting a go-kart and going racing \u2014 and then it really spirals from there.”<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Zach Bates says the Canberra community has supported him on his road to he Bathurst 1000. (Supplied: Matt Stone Racing)<\/p>\n

He attributes his talent behind the wheel to hard work, sacrifice, and a Canberra community that has backed him along his journey.<\/p>\n

“I have an incredible amount of Canberra supporters and sponsors,” Bates said.<\/p>\n

“What you see on the weekend is years of sacrifice and support from local businesses and some really cool people within Canberra itself and surrounding areas.”<\/p>\n

He added his team, which includes two mechanics and engineers around his age, worked “incredibly hard”.<\/p>\n

“We’re all just trying our best to make it happen,” Bates said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Zach Bates says his team of mechanics and engineers work incredibly hard. (ABC News: Luke Stephenson)<\/p>\n

The ‘tricky thing’ about Canberra’s racing scene<\/p>\n

Bates said the lack of a car racing track in Canberra makes it hard for locals to get into racing.<\/p>\n

“Of course it’s a short trip to Sydney up the road, but it still makes it a little bit difficult for people to get into the sport if they want to,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Nonetheless, I think we do have some decent talent here.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Rick Bates says he does not think location has a major impact on race car drivers. (ABC News)<\/p>\n

But Rick Bates said he did not think being in Canberra, or any particular location, made a noticeable difference to race car drivers.<\/p>\n

“Wherever you’re based, there’s a fair bit of travel involved,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Canberra is quite central for a base because there are rounds all over Australia.”<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old Canberran said he is preparing to face down some “absolute gurus” on the “gnarly track” at the Gold Coast 500 next weekend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Canberran Zach Bates “still can’t believe” he finished third at the Bathurst 1000 on Sunday. It was the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":926464,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[2666,493760,64,63,12356,2667,5864,2668,806,805,803,804,16280,26293,493761,3260,85,40367,168555,43679],"class_list":["post-926463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-act","tag-alison-drower","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bathurst-1000","tag-canberra","tag-driver","tag-local-stories","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-pole-position","tag-rally","tag-rick-bates","tag-rookie","tag-sports","tag-supercars","tag-v8","tag-zach-bates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/926463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=926463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/926463\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/926464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=926463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=926463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=926463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}