{"id":60575,"date":"2025-10-05T05:53:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T05:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/60575\/"},"modified":"2025-10-05T05:53:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T05:53:14","slug":"supercars-news-zach-bates-speaks-on-ali-drowers-death-before-bathurst-1000-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/60575\/","title":{"rendered":"Supercars news: Zach Bates speaks on Ali Drower\u2019s death before Bathurst 1000 debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\u2018She\u2019ll
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tZach Bates celebrates victory in the 2024 Super2 Series with mother Alison Drower. Image: Facebook<\/p>\n

Bates, 21, faces the spotlight of debuting in the Great Race as co-driver to legend Craig Lowndes while still mourning the loss of Drower, who passed away from cancer on September 28, aged 61.<\/a><\/p>\n

Drower\u2019s passing has triggered a flood of tributes from the media and motorsport industries, speaking volumes for her impact across both during a trailblazing career.<\/p>\n

She will be formally farewelled at a funeral service in Canberra on October 14, two days after Bates steers the Triple Eight wildcard entry in the Bathurst 1000.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to lie, it\u2019s been hard. It\u2019s the hardest thing I\u2019ve ever done in my life,\u201d Bates told Speedcafe of saying goodbye to his mother.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was incredible. My best friend. I absolutely loved her and the amount of support that has come from so many people has been incredible. The impact she had on so many is profound.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very, very proud to be her son. It\u2019s not good that she\u2019s not going to be at Bathurst because I really wanted her to see it, but in one way or another she\u2019ll be with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Canberra-based Bates family is Australian motorsport royalty. Zach\u2019s father Rick, uncle Neal and cousins Lewis and Harry have all excelled in rallying.<\/p>\n

Zach has taken the Bates motorsport gene and honed it for the tarmac, while also picking up key cues from his mother on the off-track elements of motorsport.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A young Zach with parents Alison Drower and Rick Bates. Image: Facebook<\/p>\n

\u201c[Mum] was obviously a media icon in her own right and an incredible role model to me in being able to handle myself around others,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe taught me so much and I feel very privileged to have been able to learn off her.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Bates is a quietly spoken emerging talent in the sport, bubbly media personality Drower had a major presence both on and off the air.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was fabulous,\u201d Bates surmises. \u201cIt\u2019s a word she used commonly and if a drink could describe her, it was champagne. She had a knack of lighting up any room.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the most treasured champagne moments came last year, when the family toasted Bates\u2019 signing with Supercars powerhouse Triple Eight to partner Lowndes in the wildcard program.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so special for all of us to recognise that it was not that long ago we were down at the Canberra Kart Club, going around and around, really just doing it for fun,\u201d Bates reflects.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel lucky. There\u2019s a lot of families that probably don\u2019t get to spend that much time together. It\u2019s probably one thing that motorsport is so incredible for.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course it has its downs as well, but it allows families and people to have something they can work towards and look forward to. I feel very, very privileged.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The family during Zach\u2019s karting days. Image: Facebook<\/p>\n

Those karting days led to stints in Formula Ford, Toyota 86s and Super2 \u2013 where he was the series winner in 2024 and has continued to compete this year.<\/p>\n

The three-event Triple Eight wildcard program meanwhile included an attention-grabbing debut in the Ipswich sprint round before teaming with Lowndes at The Bend and now Bathurst.<\/p>\n

Bates will be on double duties at Mount Panorama, set to split time between his regular Eggleston Motorsport Super2 entry and the Supercheap Auto-backed Triple Eight wildcard.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a massive, massive week. I can\u2019t believe I\u2019m going to be teaming up with Craig in his final race with Triple Eight. It\u2019s going to be a special week,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ll ever be fully ready for it, but I think it\u2019s never a bad thing to be a little bit out of your depth in whatever you do, because that\u2019s how you learn the quickest.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Zach Bates shares the Supercheap Camaro with Craig Lowndes. Image: Richard Gresham \/ Speedcafe<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Triple Eight crew are giving me the best opportunity, an incredible car and team, to shine, so I\u2019ve just got to take it with both hands and do my best.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a pinch-me-moment. I\u2019m constantly getting reminded to look up and see where I am. It wasn\u2019t that long ago I was sitting on a couch watching Craig and Steve [Richards] win Bathurst.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reality for Bates is that how he performs at Bathurst could have a major impact on whether he can take the next step and become a full-time Supercars driver in 2026.<\/p>\n

While the Bates family\u2019s history with Toyota sent speculation soaring that he could join the marque\u2019s new V8 entry, there\u2019s no deal in place and few seats left anywhere on the grid.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been a little bit of interest in the media, my name has popped up a few times which I feel very flattered about, but there\u2019s nothing concrete,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I can do is go out there, go my hardest and try and do the best job I can. That\u2019s really my audition.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Zach Bates is searching for a full-time drive. Image: Richard Gresham \/ Speedcafe<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been fantastic so far to have Craig there to mentor me through the on track stuff but also the off track stuff, how I go up to team owners and introduce myself.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of them have been absolutely fantastic and for me now, it\u2019s obviously about doing the best job I can to audition myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Bates won\u2019t have his mother by his side for his big moment at the Mountain, there\u2019ll be plenty of support from the family and beyond.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll have my dad, my cousins who will be working in the 86 series, and some of the extended family as well, so there\u2019s no shortage of support,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got some incredible sponsors as well who will be coming along to cheer us on. I\u2019m looking forward to seeing so many faces. It\u2019s very special that they\u2019re all coming to cheer me on.\u201d<\/p>\n

A funeral service for Drower will be held in the chapel of Norwood Park Crematorium, 65 Sandford Street, Mitchell, ACT, on Tuesday 14 October commencing at 10:30am.<\/p>\n

In lieu of flowers, donations to support breast cancer research at the Walter Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) can be made via this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Zach Bates celebrates victory in the 2024 Super2 Series with mother Alison Drower. Image: Facebook Bates, 21, faces…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60576,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[43206,156,111,139,69,1058,21403,43269],"class_list":{"0":"post-60575","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-craig-lowndes","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz","13":"tag-slot1","14":"tag-triple-eight","15":"tag-zach-bates"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}