Holdsworth precedent favours 'good pick-up' Coulthard

Lee Holdsworth's standout Bathurst performance last year will have teams hungry to sign Fabian Coulthard, says Broc Feeney.

Coulthard will be key to the co-driver market, having departed PremiAir Racing.

It mirrors the situation faced by Holdsworth 12 months ago following his exit from Tickford Racing.

Still a highly-regarded full-time driver, Holdsworth was snaffled by Walkinshaw Andretti United to partner Chaz Mostert.

The pair duly dominated the Great Race, Holdsworth pulled away from his rivals with ease at every chance.

Holdsworth later earned a full-time recall with Grove Racing, completing his full circle return.

According to Feeney, Coulthard would be more than capable of doing the same for any team which signs him.

Red Bull Ampol Racing, like the balance of pit lane, has yet to confirm its full suite of drivers for this year’s Repco Bathurst 1000.

However, the Triple Eight squad already has the likes of Jamie Whincup, Craig Lowndes and Garth Tander at its disposal.

"I’m not too sure where my team stands at the moment; I’m not the boss, so I don’t make the decisions," Feeney told Supercars.com.

"Fabian is going to be a good pick-up for whoever gets him at the end of the day.

"You saw in Bathurst, the level the co-drivers are at now is out of control.

"Holdsworth was incredible; he was a No.1 driver and he was running the pace of the full-time guys.

"Fabian would do that same. It proves that to win the race these days, you have to have two extremely quick drivers.

"I’ll let my team make the call, but Bathurst is a long way away. I’m focused on Sydney."

Speaking to Supercars.com, Coulthard made no secret of his desire to win the Great Race.

"I’ve been fortunate over the years with teams I’ve raced with that they’ve put me in a position to get good results in good cars," Coulthard said.

Holdsworth emerged from the wilderness to win Bathurst

"Any next move, I want to do the best thing for my career and my family.

"The focus, first and foremost, is giving myself the best chance I can to win Bathurst."

Coulthard, a 470-race veteran and 13-time winner, has regularly stepped up with strong performances at Mount Panorama.

Notably, he combined with Tony D’Alberto and Shell V-Power Racing Team to finish third in the treacherous, water-logged 2017 race.

Anton De Pasquale, Coulthard’s effective replacement at the Ford squad, was a strong combination with D’Alberto last year.

De Pasquale scored provisional pole, with the duo running in the podium placings for much of the day before the #11 ground to a halt late in the piece.

The Ford team also has yet to confirm its co-drivers, with Scott McLaughlin unable to make the 2021 race due to border restrictions.

De Pasquale refused to weigh in on a possible Coulthard-Shell reunion, but echoed Feeney’s sentiments that a strong combination is more important than ever to win the race.

"There is a long way to go until Bathurst, but Ryan [Story] and the team are all across it," De Pasquale told Supercars.com.

"Our guys we had last year did a good job at Bathurst; we needed to give them a faster car.

"We didn’t have the outright speed of Chaz and Lee, more than anyone. They were strong together.

"Working with Tony for the first time, he did an awesome job.

"But regarding our co-drivers, I haven’t got to that stage in thought yet."

This year's Great Race will be held on October 9.

The 13-event 2022 Repco Supercars Championship will commence in Sydney in March. CLICK HERE to purchase your tickets.