Supercars has set its sights on Alice Buckley. Image: InSyde Media
Speedcafe can reveal the 18-year-old sensation was due to turn her maiden Supercars laps with Super2 squad Eggleston Motorsport on Tuesday this week.
The outing was arranged by Supercars CEO James Warburton, who orchestrated Simona De Silvestro’s entry into the category during his previous tenure in the role.
Buckley’s test was postponed due to a freak injury sustained during the recent Trans Am round at The Bend, where a gearbox failure left her with tendon and ligament damage to her right arm.
While it’s unknown when Buckley will be fit to return to track action, Warburton is keen to assist the Gold Coast-based teen onto the Supercars pathway.
“Alice has been open about her ambition to be a main game Supercars driver,” Warburton explained to Speedcafe.
“I reached out to her dad and said, ‘is there anything we can do to help?’, so we caught up and asked if she’d consider doing Super2 next year.
“We had a discussion with GM and a couple of their sponsors. I said if it was a prospect you want to think about seriously, we’d organise a test day.”
Buckley, who is contracted to General Motors, shot to prominence with victories in her first two outings in the TA2 class at Queensland Raceway across June and August.
Alice Buckley. Image: Matthew Christie / Network R
That led to a decision to move on from Toyota’s GR Cup and make an early debut in the higher profile Trans Am Series on the Supercars bill at Tailem Bend.
Buckley told Speedcafe she needs to test the Super2 Holden before knowing if she’ll be ready to graduate to the category next season.
“It’s a little bit unknown. The test was going to be a benchmark to figure out if I’m ready for it,” she said of her Super2 plans.
“Supercars has been really supportive, James Warburton and [Super2 category manager] Jason Routley, talking to us.
“There hasn’t been a female in Super2 for a few years now, so it’s definitely something that they’re looking for.
“It’s something that’s very exciting to talk about but it’s an unknown with my condition at the moment, when or if the test will be booked in again and that side of things.”
Warburton made clear that Supercars would not directly fund a Super2 program for Buckley but is trying to assist where possible.
Buckley already has a series of blue chip backers including GM, Castrol, Shannons Insurance and Autobarn.
“Obviously, we’ve been very happy to help with sponsors and having our commercial department assist them with the sorts of materials they might need to put together,” he said.
“We’ve just given the added incentive that Supercars are behind it, trying to see if there’s a possibility of Alice looking at Super2 for ’26 and ’27 with a view to Supercars in the longer term.”
Alice Buckley has finished her time in Toyotas. Image: Tamara Jade Media
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Warburton believes having a female presence on the Supercars grid is important for the championship.
His previous effort to lure Swiss racer De Silvestro to Australia resulted in two Bathurst 1000 wildcards and three full-time seasons with backing from Harvey Norman.
De Silvestro was the first female to compete full-time in the modern era of V8 racing but returned home after the 2019 season.
Buckley has already declared her ambition to be the first Australian woman to achieve a full-time Supercars drive, wanting to blaze a trail for other young girls to follow.
“If we can open the pathways, we will,” said Warburton, while stressing that Buckley would need to continue to progress on merit.
“Last time I was around we tried with Simona, and she was a core part of the championship for three years.
“I think every sport is promoting diversity and inclusion and we’re no different. For us it’s about interest and attracting new fans.”
Buckley is meanwhile focused on recovery with the aim of continuing her TA2 learning curve with a return for the final round at Winton across the October 31-November 2 weekend.
“There’s nerve damage so time will tell a little bit,” she said.
“It’s anywhere between eight and 12 weeks before I can pretty much do everything without pain, but I’ll definitely be back in the car before then.
“We’re hoping to be ready for Winton.”