Up and coming Supercar driver, Jack Smith has confirmed he will line up on the BNT V8s grid for round one at Pukekohe this weekend aboard a Hamilton Motorsports class one Holden Commodore.
Smith comes to round one of the BNT V8s full of confidence having clinched the Kumho V8 Touring Car Championship crown last weekend at Sydney Motorsport Park – his first national title.
Focusing on his future, the 18-year-old Australian driver says that competing in the BNT V8s series will provide valuable mileage as he prepares for another season in Dunlop Super 2 in Australia.
Jack Smith. Photo, Daniel Kalisz.
“The aim of coming to New Zealand and doing the BNT V8s series is to gain further mileage in a car that is similar to a Supercar,” says Smith.
“Essentially most of the championship is run in the Australian off season, so when the new season kicks of in Australia in March I will have done a lot of driving over summer and will be race ready.”
This will be Smith’s first foray into New Zealand motorsport, a challenge he is looking forward.
“It’s going to be all new to me, I’ve actually never raced in New Zealand, so I won’t know any of the tracks at all. I’ve seen lots of coverage of Pukekohe on television over the years, and it looks like a very fast circuit, I’m looking forward to getting there later in the week.”
Smiths Hamilton Motorsports Holden Commodore will be run alongside the car of Lance Hughes and will enjoy backing from Hamilton Asphalts and Pilot Brewery.
“I’ll have an experienced team mate in Lance Hughes, he went well at Pukekohe last year, so I’ll be able to gain some knowledge from him over the weekend.”
Prior to debuting at Pukekohe, Smith will test his Holden at Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park at Taupo on Wednesday.
The first round of the 2017/18 BNT V8s season gets underway at the Virgin Australia ITM Auckland Super Sprint at Pukekohe November 3-5.