Stanaway ‘confident’ of full-time drive in 2018

Co-driver Richie Stanaway declared himself a likely full-time starter in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship next season after helping Cameron Waters to pole at Sandown.

The 25-year-old Kiwi’s future has been the subject of increasing speculation in recent months after publicly stating he won’t return to Europe in 2018.

Having impressed on his Supercars debut in last year’s PIRTEK Enduro Cup with Prodrive, Stanaway’s stocks rose further when he won a race on debut in the Dunlop Super2 Series last month.

His strong form continued today as he rose from sixth on the grid to finish third in the co-driver sprint race, before Waters took the win in the second to secure pole.

Although Stanaway has been open about his desire to move into the main series next year, he’s no longer downplaying the prospect of an opportunity arising.

“I’d say there’s a pretty good chance. It’s just a matter of time, waiting to see what materialises,” he said of the chances of stepping up.

“I’m pretty confident of getting a seat next year, but I can’t really say much more than that.”

Following Stanaway’s comments, Prodrive boss Tim Edwards reaffirmed to Supercars.com that the team has an ongoing contract with the Kiwi for 2018.

so that he can be my co-driver again next year, but it is what it is.”