Bates opens up on 2027, rollercoaster 12 months

For Zach Bates, memories of his maiden Bathurst 1000 start last October cover the full spectrum of emotions.

Making a Bathurst debut is the culmination of any young Australian racing driver's wildest dreams, your name up in lights on the greatest of stages. Bates landed a dream Triple Eight drive alongside Craig Lowndes for his debut.

But for Bates, he arrived at Bathurst with a heavy heart, following the passing of his mother, Alison 'Ali' Drower, not only a driving force in his blossoming career, but a beloved media figure.

12 months later, the 22-year-old returns in a full-time capacity, battle hardened by a rollercoaster 12 months both on and off-track.

"It's unbelievable how quickly time goes, but I have an amazing family around me to support me," Bates told Supercars.com.

"Obviously that was the worst time of my life, but in a way it's funny how some of the best things in life can come out of the worst times of your life.

"When you get to roll out at Bathurst, it makes you realise just how lucky you are to get to do this for a living.

"It's a tough time for me and all of my family this time of year, but my family is amazing."

Bates enters Bathurst 18th in the championship, with veteran teammate Jack Le Brocq holding down the all-important 10th Finals berth entering the cut-off race at Bathurst.

Matt Stone Racing are yet to confirm any plans for 2027, despite Stone himself declaring at Ipswich that he was close to announcing 2027 plans, with a focus on "continuity."

However, when asked about what his plans hold beyond this season, the 2024 Super2 champion was tight-lipped: "I have nothing to say on 2027 at the moment."

Last year, Bates helped close Lowndes' iconic 20-year spell with Triple Eight Race Engineering, and put in a fine performance to claim a top 10 finish at his first attempt in trying conditions.

However, it was the learnings off track that have helped Bates most heading into 2026, admitting that some of Triple Eight's advice came straight back to him as he began preparations for his first full-time enduro assault.

"It's actually a lot of the procedural things. When you start doing driver changes again it all starts to come back to you pretty quickly after you do it for the first time," Bates added.

"Triple Eight are very disciplined about those things, and they arm you with a few tips and tricks to take with you throughout your career, and obviously Craig is such a fantastic mentor.

"He taught me a lot about the flow of the weekend, and also the flow of the race itself, obviously it's so much longer compared to any other normal race.

Last year, Bates also had to juggle a Super2 title defence - which hadn't gone to plan - with his Bathurst debut, a challenge he is glad to leave in the rear-view mirror.

"Not having to do Super2 is a relief this year as well, just being able to allow myself to focus solely on the Supercars side of things," Bates admitted.

"It's more of a mental thing to be honest, when you're doing your first Bathurst you're focusing so much on it, even if you're on double duties.

"It's a case of not putting all your eggs in one basket, but you're putting the majority of them into one basket. It's just all about managing the workload when you're balancing Super2 as well.

"It's not something I'd run back to in a hurry, that's for sure."

The 2026 Repco Bathurst 1000 commences on Thursday, October 8.