Winterbottom hands over the 'keys' for Eseries

Team 18 has firmed up its driver lineup for the 2021 Cash Converters Supercars ESeries, with 18-year-old Cooper Webster to take on the Pro ESeries alongside Scott Pye in the All Stars Eseries.

Webster will take the wheel of the #18 IRWIN Racing Holden ZB Commodore, with Supercars champion and Bathurst 1000 winner Mark Winterbottom handing over the 'keys' of the IRWIN Racing car for the online racing competition.

Team 18 Supercar driver Scott Pye was locked in earlier this week to represent the team in the All Stars Eseries in his #20 DEWALT Racing car.

The All Stars and Pro gamers will run for their own championship and take part in separate races at each event before Pye and Webster will combine for an online endurance race at the iconic Mount Panorama circuit at Bathurst.

Webster is one of the standouts on the sim-racing scene, placing sixth in last year’s Supercars Pro ESeries with one pole position and six top-five finishes to his name, and is a regular in the V8 Supercars Online Premier Series with four poles and two wins from eleven races this season.

Webster is also a rising motorsport name in his own right. The multiple state and national karting champion made his circuit racing debut in 2019.

He finished third in the national Hyundai Excel title, and starred in the inaugural S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship, picking up a race win at Phillip Island earlier this year.

“I’m super excited to run with Team 18 this year in the Supercars Pro ESeries. Last year I was with Seiko so it’s cool to race for a real Supercar team this year and I can’t wait to get started.

“I’m excited to represent Frosty in his IRWIN Commodore, it was great getting to chat with him as he handed over the keys, you could say!" Webster said.

“I’m also looking forward to working with Scott [Pye] and help him out in the All Stars and we’ll see how we go when we team up in the endurance race.

“This year in sim-racing I’ve raced in the V8 Supercars Online Premier Series and have done pretty well so far with a few poles and race wins, so hopefully that sets me up for a good season in the Supercars Eseries.

“I would say the Pro grid is more competitive than it was last year, the racing gets more competitive and tougher each year. I’ve raced against most of the drivers in the Eseries in other sim-racing championships, so everyone will be familiar, but the competition will be tough this season.”

The 2021 Cash Converters Supercars Eseries is set for six events every Wednesday night starting August 25.

The schedule will see the All Stars race on NASCAR-style oval tracks for the All Stars Eseries, while the Pro Eseries will race on traditional road circuits including Phillip Island, Long Beach and Road America.

All races will be broadcast live on Fox Sports, streamed on Kayo Sports and 7Plus, and available on the Supercars Facebook and YouTube pages.