Jobe Stewart scored maiden Shootout berth, qualified ninth
Rising Erebus Motorsport star will share Camaro with Jarrod Hughes
500km Ryco Enduro Cup opener begins at 1:45pm local
Saturday was a banner day for Erebus Motorsport rookie Jobe Stewart, who labelled his maiden Supercars Shootout appearance as "pretty unreal."
The rising star pipped reigning champion Chaz Mostert to the final Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout berth by just 0.03s, and backed it up to end up a career-best ninth in the one-lap dash.
It was a standout performance on the big stage for Stewart, who had qualified no better than 14th across his opening 28 attempts in his rookie season.
“Yeah, it's pretty unreal," Stewart told media, including Supercars.com.
“Like, me and Cooper [Murrya] have both struggled the whole year and Cooper cracked the top 10 in QR, and the last couple of rounds we've been really finding our feet in quali.
“Then to back it up here with almost two cars in the Shootout is awesome, for my first Shootout ever, I'm stoked.”
You could have forgiven Stewart for arriving at The Bend down in the dumps, after what has been a trying season.
However, the Mount Gambier talent delivered on a day he needed to most, as co-drivers ready to take the reins on what it expected to be a wild start to Sunday's race.
“Throughout the year, it kind of beats you down a bit just being at the back of the grid," said the 22-year-old, who insisted pre-event that he needed to step up as a leader.
“We had a few glimpses of hope, but to come out and prove that I can get into the Shootout, even though it was only just, it's pretty good. It gives a lot of confidence moving forward, especially for Bathurst.
“I think even coming back to The Bend this year after last year, having that top 10 just gave us a bit more confidence. So yeah, I'm just feeling pretty good at the moment.”
Sitting 24th and last of the full-timers in the points, Stewart knows a big points swing in the Ryco Enduro Cup could turn around his season. Doing it with long-time Erebus Academy teammate Jarrod Hughes, his co-driver, would make it even sweeter.
“These are the ones that pay the most points, and they're the hardest races of the year," he continued.
“So, to do it with Jarrod, he's pretty stoked as well. The last three or four years we've been teammates and to team up and have this good of a weekend so far has been awesome.
“He was pretty quick in his co-driver sessions, so that was cool too. But yeah, we'll just try and back it up with the top 10 in the race.”
Sunday action at The Bend commences with the Warm Up at 10:15am local time/10:45am AEST, before the 500km Ryco Enduro Cup opener begins at 1:45pm local/2:15pm AEST.
