Zak Best declares he and Aaron Cameron can be in the Bathurst fight
BRT enter Bathurst off the back of double Bend disqualification
Best to step away from remaining Super2 Series events
Zak Best believes that he and the Blanchard Racing Team are strongly placed to put a nightmare AirTouch 500 at The Bend behind them at the Repco Bathurst 1000.
Both cars were disqualified after both James Golding and Aaron Cameron failed to meet the minimum driving requirement, a hammer blow to Golding's Finals ambitions and the cherry on top of a day where Cameron/Best finished last and four laps down after several incidents and a drive-through penalty.
However, full focus has immediately turned to Bathurst redemption, with Cameron completing a rookie day at Winton on Tuesday, and the team full of confidence they can turn around Golding's 87-point Finals deficit.
The combination of Golding/Richie Stanaway has been viewed by many as one of the 2026 Great Race's real dark horse threats. Both Golding and Stanaway believe they can get the job done. Best, however, is bullish that the #3 LIQUI MOLY BLAHST Ford can also be a feature at the front of the field.
When asked by Supercars.com whether or not he feels he can factor in the conversation for victory, Best replied: "Yeah I think we can. I don't think it's unrealistic to say we can't.
"Really, anyone can I think in the field, just need a bit of luck go your way, and you just gotta be there at the end as they always say.
"Just minimise mistakes or no mistakes, and then hopefully we've got a good car underneath us, which I'm sure it'll be good. Hopefully we can get a good result together, hopefully a podium if anything."
Best will have full focus on the Repco Bathurst 1000, confirming to Supercars.com that he has elected to withdraw from the remainder of the 2026 DUNLOP Super2 Series.
The 24-year-old, who will turn 25 on Bathurst Sunday, enters this year's 1000 in a career-first position, remaining with the same co-driver and engineer in Cameron and Daniel Veronese.
Entering Bathurst with continuity, and a BRT that has displayed blistering speed throughout the season, and Best believes they're in a far better position than they were 12 months ago, even despite The Bend.
"I think we've got a lot more confidence this year going into Bathurst, having the same engineer, same driving line-up," Best continued.
"It felt like for us and our side to have continuity is quite good. It's the first time for me having the same pairing, that makes things a lot easier when we've worked together before.
"I think it's a lot more conference going in, and obviously the car speed has been great compared to last year, and I think we've learned a lot over the year, and learned from The Bend.
"I think I should be in a good position, and hopefully Aaron can have a good qualifying and put the thing in the Shootout. I think there's a lot of speed in the in the car, Aaron and I just haven't been able to show our true potential yet."
Ultimately, Bathurst could serve the ultimate redemption story, and with Cameron/Best starring to ninth last year, Stanaway a former winner, and Golding having crossed the line first last year, all the ingredients are there for the team to bounce back in a big way on the Mountain.
"I think everyone's hungry for redemption. I guess after the The Bend with that small mistake as a team it sort hurts a bit, especially with Jimmy's finals and our pit line order," Best said.
"For teams' championship, we've fallen back down the order not where we want to be, so everyone's been working hard at the workshop and putting in a lot of effort to make sure that doesn't happen and we move back up and have a strong result at Bathurst."
The Repco Bathurst 1000 will be held from October 8-11.
