Crompton reacts to 'special' Bathurst Toyota drive
Neil Crompton drove new Toyota Supercar in Bathurst
Hall of Famer drove car at Track to Town, will cut laps on Friday
Crompton pivotal to Toyota joining the championship
Neil Crompton is usually one with the words of the moment, but on Wednesday afternoon, a “full circle” moment took him back in time.
The Supercars Hall of Famer steered the new-for-2026 Toyota GR Supra around Mount Panorama during Wednesday’s Track to Town in Bathurst.
Crompton drove the car at an Altona shake down before the recent Bathurst event launch, where the car was unveiled.
He also briefly got behind the wheel at a Winton test day, helping him get his eye in before the emotional Bathurst lap on Wednesday, before he gets in for a demonstration after Friday qualifying.
Since his final Bathurst 1000 start in 2002, Crompton has sparingly driven Supercars machinery. However, a “fortuitous” run in a Walkinshaw Andretti United Commodore in 2021 helped him discover cancer.
As he juggles broadcast and business duties, Crompton’s opportunities to drive a Supercar have become even more limited.
"It's special. It's a great honour. It's a great privilege. You know, it's a long time since I was full-time in this business,” Crompton told Supercars.com before he got behind the wheel on Wednesday.
“I've made my entire life and career out of being around this group of people up and down the lane, including the people in here at this team and obviously Toyota for a long period of time. I've been with them for nearly 18 years now.
“So, this is just Toyota's and the team's way of saying thank you for having a crazy thought bubble.”
When asked if there was hesitation to drive the car in Bathurst, Crompton replied: “Well actually there was, because I've typically had different opportunities as times gone by, and I generally say no.
"But the last time I said yes, which was 2021, was actually with this team, and it was how I accidentally ended up discovering that I had cancer.
"There's a point in time where you can't do this anymore. To answer your question, I thought about it for a minute and then went, 'no, actually I would, it'll be the last time that I get to drive a Supercar around Bathurst’.
“You think about how we're going to have millions of people watching the broadcast on the weekend, and heap of people who'd love to have the opportunity to drive a car. The reality of that's not lost on me."
Track action in Bathurst commences on Thursday.
