Xiberras: Bathurst debut 'daunting'

A first Bathurst as a team owner is both "exciting and daunting” for PremiAir Racing owner Peter Xiberras.

Xiberras’ fledgling Gold Coast-based team will make its Great Race debut in three weeks’ time.

The drag racing veteran took over Team Sydney in the off-season.

Already, PremiAir Racing has made waves on and off the track in its first campaign.

Most recently, mid-season recruit James Golding scored top 10s at Sandown and Pukekohe.

PremiAir Racing’s first enduro comes after eight SuperSprint rounds and 500km events in Sydney and Townsville.

However, 1000km at Mount Panorama is a literal mountain to climb, and Xiberras knows he’ll need luck on his side.

“It’s exciting and daunting at the same time,” Xiberras told Supercars’ Cool Down Lap podcast.

“We’ll prepare as best we can.

“If Mother Luck’s on our side, hopefully we get through the weekend.

“We’ll come out smiling at the other end.”

PremiAir Racing is on an upwards progression, which has been accelerated by Golding’s arrival.

Chris Pither also demonstrated impressive race pace on home soil, notably climbing 12 spots in a single race.

'We’ll come out smiling at the other end'

Given the team has 161 laps to play with in Bathurst, Team Principal Matt Cook suggested they will have more wriggle room to learn on the run.

“It is always tough on the crew to get a qualifying car happening, trying to extract the most we can out of the car, and then turning it right around to a race car, and then turning it around again for the second race, all in between the short times that we have,” Cook said of SuperSprint rounds.

"But the crew has done a great job.

“We had two solid races with really great and consistent pace, and come away with two straight cars.

"Now we have to quickly turn them around, do a test day, and focus on Bathurst which will be here before we know it.”

Xiberras won’t be the only debutant team owner, with Stephen and Brenton Grove also readying for Bathurst.

The Groves are making their Bathurst 1000 debuts as the sole owner of what was Kelly Grove Racing.

The Kelly name dropped off in the off-season, and the team has also advanced in 2022.

David Reynolds is comfortably in the top 10, and has six podiums to his name.

The team has extra weight for Bathurst, with the Groves determined to send the retiring Lee Holdsworth out on a high.

"We’ve just got to keep preparing and keep advancing and move on to Bathurst,” Grove said.

"We’ve got a lot of confidence going up there, the cars will be good and we’ve got solid driver pairings with Matt Campbell joining David Reynolds again and young Matt Payne with Lee Holdsworth.

"But Bathurst is one day, and everything has to fall you way on that day."

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