Evans: Bathurst debut a 'dream come true'

A looming Bathurst debut is a “dream come true” for Porsche star Jaxon Evans.

The New Zealander has been recruited by Brad Jones Racing alongside Jack Smith.

Evans will be the fourth different co-driver for Smith in as many years.

Smith’s debut came alongside Todd Hazelwood in 2019.

His full-time Bathurst starts have come alongside Jack Perkins (2020) and David Wall (2021).

With Evans a rookie, Smith - who recently brought up 100 races - is now the more experienced of the two.

Evans joined Smith at Winton earlier this week, with BJR moving to announce the Kiwi after Monday’s evaluation day.

The young drivers teamed up on Tuesday to perfect driver changes and get Evans comfortable in the car.

Evans, the 2018 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia champion, is now itching to get to Mount Panorama.

He has previously raced Porsches at Mount Panorama, winning the 2018 Carrera Cup round and finishing second in the 2020 Bathurst 12 Hour.

“Really excited by the opportunity to make my Bathurst 1000 debut,” he said.

“Looking forward to teaming up with Jack and joining BJR.

“It’s a dream come true, I’m pinching myself at the moment.”

Smith and Evans have an exisiting connection dating back to their days in karts.

'Jack and I raced together in go karts'

Both drivers were part of the Birel Kart Team before they went their separate ways.

Smith pursued touring cars and had success in New Zealand and Australia.

Evans won the Porsche title before the German marque brought him to Europe.

The 26-year-old was runner-up in last year's Porsche Supercup, which was on Formula 1’s undercard.

He also finished third in last year’s GTE Am category with another former Carrera Cup champion, Matt Campbell.

Campbell will be a rival to Evans in Bathurst when he combines with 2017 Bathurst winner David Reynolds.

Evans is one of seven rookies in this year’s Bathurst field, and is arguably the most credentialed of the bunch.

Campbell and Evans are Porsche stars

However, Evans is enjoying starting from zero and is already feeling comfortable with BJR.

“Jack and I raced together in go karts at the end of our karting careers,” he said.

“It’s cool to re-link here in Supercars, it’s the pinnacle of Australian motorsport.

“It’s been great so far, he’s a good guy, the team’s great.

“I’m really enjoying it."

Cars will hit the track for Practice 1 on October 6, with race day October 9.

Tickets for the Repco Bathurst 1000 are available on Supercars.com and Ticketek.