Bathurst 1000 winner Richie Stanaway achieves ‘lifetime dream’, father says

Racing car driver Richie Stanaway has achieved a “lifetime dream” after winning his first Bathurst 1000 crown alongside fellow Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen at Mount Panorama on Sunday, his father says.

The last and only other Kiwi pairing to win the prestigious race was Greg Murphy and Steven Richards in 1999.

The Supercars driver previously told NZME it was a childhood dream of his to win the race.

“It’s been incredible to be a part of this team. Teaming up with Shane, I knew we had a good shot, but you never know in this race,” Stanaway said.

Shane van Gisbergen and co driver Richie Stanaway win the 2023 Repco Bathurst 1000, Event 10 of the Repco Supercars Championship, Mount Panorama, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. 8 Oct, 2023.

Speaking to the Rotorua Daily Post from Australia on Monday, Stanaway‘s father Neville Stanaway said the win was “pretty emotional and pretty sensational”.

“Any professional driver around the world wants to win Bathurst and it’s not an easy feat to do. It’s a long race and anything could happen.”

Neville Stanaway said the atmosphere was “amazing” and there was “huge” support.

Stanaway said his son had achieved a “lifetime dream”.

Rotorua Stockcar Club president Nick Beazley said Stanaway raced in the club’s entry-level class for 12- to 17-year-olds.

“He raced that class as a junior and he did really well,” Beazley said.

“He has done amazing as a driver anyway through racing in Europe and Germany before he went to V8 Supercars. So as an open-wheeler driver and as a contractor driver... he has always been at the top. So the significance of just adding Bathurst to that, especially for a local Rotorua boy, who gets the chance to do that?”

“If kids can see where he started in racing... hopefully [they’ll] get more interested in speedway.”

Beazley said Neville Stanaway raced at Paradise Valley for more than 20 years prior to Richie racing.

Motorsport Bay of Plenty president Mike Torr said the win was “great” for Stanaway and it was a “good opportunity” for him to leverage it into future drives.

“We’re thrilled to have him as a member of our club and thrilled for his result this last weekend,” Torr said.

Shane van Gisbergen, Richie Stanaway's racing partner, performs a victory skid in the Triple Eight Race Engineering Chevrolet Camaro after winning the Bathurst 1000. Photo / Getty Images

He said van Gisbergen was competing in Rally Bay of Plenty this weekend - the final round of the New Zealand Rally Championship - which goes from Whakatāne to Tauranga.

Stanaway and motorsport legend Greg Murphy were a wildcard entry at the 2021 Bathurst event, racing a Holden out of the Erebus Motorsport stable, backed by Boost Mobile owner Peter Adderton.

The Herald reported in June 2021 that Stanaway walked away from motorsport after a fraught couple of seasons in Supercars, leaving to explore what else life had to offer.

However, Adderton soon haggled his way into getting Stanaway and Murphy to dust off their helmets and go racing again.

“At first, neither of us wanted to do it and we were both on the same page,” Stanaway told the Weekend Herald at the time.

“Bathurst is a tough race, even for those who race fulltime, and one you’re typically not too keen to have a crack at after being away for a while.

“Peter Adderton rallied us up and he can talk you into anything. Now we’ve both changed our minds, we’re both glad we’re going ahead with it. It’s going to be a cool little adventure racing together.”

Stanaway made his solo race debut on the Australian touring car circuit back in August 2017, when he piloted one of the Prodrive Racing Ford Supercars at Sydney Motorsport Park in the Dunlop Super2 series, Supercars’ second division.

Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.