How cold call to Bathurst legend helped Cameron emerge from nightmare

Time and again, Aaron Cameron watched race results slip away. After dragging his damaged Mustang into the garage in Christchurch, he'd had enough.

Despite being one of the best qualifiers in 2026, the Blanchard Racing Team driver tumbled down to 20th in the championship after New Zealand. He had made mistakes, was taken out, and made poor starts.

Enter five-time Bathurst champion Steven Richards.

Cameron picked up the phone and called Richards, who started 460 Supercars races between 1996 and 2019. Son of Supercars Hall of Famer Jim, Steven carved out a legendary career of his own. Only six drivers have won Bathurst more times.

The Richards family already had ties to Blanchard Racing Team, with Steven's son Clay steering Toyota GR Cup machinery for the team.

Speaking in the Tasmania paddock, Richards hailed Cameron's decision to look inwards.

"Aaron, full credit to him, he's probably seen what's been going on in some other teams and he reached out,” Richards told Supercars.com.

"He gave us a call and said, 'Hey, would you come and just stand around and have a look and see if there's anything you can help out with?’ I said, ‘Yeah, no problem’.

“We're kind of involved with Blanchard Racing Team anyway. Clay has driven the 86 with their brand for the last couple of years, and I’ve been friends with JB [John Blanchard] and Tim [Blanchard] for years and years and years.

"So it kind of made sense. I still love being around the paddock."

Richards has become the latest ex-driver to help the next generation, following Greg Murphy's work with Ryan Wood, Garth Tander's time with Matt Payne and Kai Allen, and Mark Winterbottom's deal with Tickford Racing.

Speaking post-race, Cameron quipped that his new findings helped deliver just his second top 10 since he opened the season with a shock podium.

"Richo, I spoke to him between rounds and asked if he could come along and give me a bit of guidance, he's spent a bit of time around BRT before," Cameron said.

"I'm just trying to figure out more of those things in the race, which I think paid off today.

"It's really hard to put it down to one thing, but it's a whole package that has been really helpful for guys like Matt Payne and Ryan Wood with Murphy and Tander. We're just trying to create the whole package here at BRT."

Richards, though, remained humble, adding: "To be honest, I don't know if I'd even would've made a contribution. At some point he's going to work it out.

"I guess if you can have a talk to someone and there's something there that sticks, that’s great. We’ve had a few chats. This weekend was more about not getting too caught up with him, or distracting his routine, because sometimes you need that as well."

So, what does Richards think Cameron needs to address immediately?

Richards replied: “The obvious one is the conversion from qualifying to the race. There’s no questioning his speed.

“When it comes together — and he's very good at being able to pull the cat out of the bag — and actually generates speed, that’s himself. He’s fast.

“I think it's just more about, when is the right time to hold, when is the right time to fold. And you can only work that out by driving against the good guys at the front of the field.

“And there's no bad guys. The level in Supercars is so, so high.”

Whether Tasmania is a turning point remains to be seen for Cameron, given there are six more rounds before the Finals cut-off. Tasmania wasn't without incident — Cameron was spun around in the first race after a concertina triggered by Kai Allen, while he clashed with Anton De Pasquale in Sunday qualifying.

Cameron, though, was simply relieved to get home and bag some points.

"It's just nice to finish the weekend with a top 10, and no issues in the race, just cruising through, I had a really good time" the Victorian said.

"It's just really thinking about what I'm doing out there rather than just corner to corner, so it's been a good turning point.

"Hopefully it's a reset for us, and we can start chipping away and getting the cars up the front. You never know, getting a trophy once in a while would be nice."

Cameron will resume his 2026 Supercars campaign in Darwin on June 19-21.