Why Hughes won't back down after starring debut

Of the non-Finals Drivers who could've thrown the cat amongst the pigeons on the Gold Coast, few predicted that Erebus debutant Jarrod Hughes was going to be the chief disruptor.

Yet, in a starring debut he did just that, battling fiercely with Ryan Wood, to the point where Walkinshaw TWG Racing deployed Chaz Mostert as wingman to stave off Hughes, as well as Andre Heimgartner.

A top six finish was well on the cards before an unscheduled late fuel stop, however an impression had already been made on the field, and a supreme drive at The Bend had been proven to be anything but a fluke.

Holding his own against the established superstars of the field was a key personal objective for Hughes, though he knows that his initiation to life in the main game has only just begun.

"That was one of my goals heading into the weekend. I wanted to stand my ground and make sure I wasn't the rookie who was going to get pushed around," Hughes told Supercars.com in the lead up to Sandown.

"I knew that there was going to be that sense of pick on the new guy, and I wanted to fight back.

"I'm sure that I'll probably still be copping that a little bit at Sandown, but at least now I've proven I'm not going to take a backwards step if anyone tries to rough me up."

Hughes' battle with Wood threatened to have major implications on the title battle, as he rattled into the side of Wood's Toyota at the Turn 4 hairpin, before being forced to back off as they went into the Beach Chicane side-by-side.

However, Finals considerations were not something that crossed the young gun's mind in the heat of battle, with Hughes' only consideration to get the best finish he could, and repay that faith shown by Erebus.

"When I was battling guys like Brown and Woody, I wasn't even thinking that I was fighting against guys who are going for the championship," Hughes continued.

"It wasn't until I jumped out of the car and looked at the timing screens that I was like, 'Oh wow, I really could've had a big impact on their championship.'

"But when I was in the car, I was just purely focused on the race at hand, and executing."

So, does the Finals race now weigh on his mind having been right in the thick of it on the Gold Coast?

Hughes was strong in his response: "Nah it isn't really, I'm not going out there to have a role in anyone's championship this weekend.

"I just wanna go out there and do my job. I'm not going out there to ruin anyone's championship, but I'm also not going to go out there and not have a go so I don't get in anyone's way.

"It's obviously a little bit of a different scenario not being in Finals, it's almost like you're in you own little championship within a championship, but for me it's just all about learning and gaining that experience should I be back on the grid in 2027."

Those sentiments were echoed by Erebus CEO Barry Ryan Ryan in Friday's team representatives press conference at Sandown: "If we’re up for a result, we’ll take every result we can get. Like Anton, we’re aligned with GM, but we’re not going to do anything that’s going to sacrifice our results, definitely not.”

Erebus are yet to formally announce who will drive the #99 Camaro next year, though Ryan once again indicated on Friday that Hughes is all but a lock to be driving full-time in 2027.

The Penrite Oil Sandown 500 continues with Boost Mobile Qualifying for Race 33 at 11:20am AEDT.