Cameron Waters is looking to impress his new team bosses at Mount Panorama this weekend, hinting that he?d like to build his V8 Supercars future with the family squad.
Waters has won the right to compete in the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, securing the inaugural Shannons Supercar Showdown and landing the drive alongside Grant Denyer in this weekend?s ?Great Race.?
At 16-years-old, Waters will also become the youngest-ever person to make a start in the Bathurst 1000. Waters says that he wants to have a safe, competitive run at Bathurst to sure up a possible future with the team. ?To be in with Kelly Racing is amazing,? said Waters.
?If I go well, I could be part of the future, but that will depend on how I go in this.?
The Kelly team has long held an ambition to offer a youth driver program, similar to the way the Kelly boys entered the sport through the Holden Young Lions team.
Rick Kelly says that Waters will be watched closely this weekend to see how he handles his Mount Panorama task.
?Todd and I are very excited about the talent that Cam has,? Kelly told Speedcafe.com.
?We?d love to be a part of his future plans, but at the moment, we just want to get him through Bathurst, and we also want to see him win the Australian Formula Ford Championship.
?At such a young age, he has a huge amount of potential, and we don?t want to put too much pressure on him too early.
?We?ve always said that we have wanted to help develop young talent in the sport. We see Cam as being a part of that and we?d like to work with him. At this point, though, we?ll just see how he goes for the rest of this year.?
Fast Facts:
- Cameron Waters will become the youngest driver to ever compete at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. On race day he will be 17 years, 2 months and 6 days old (born 3 August 1994)
- Previous record holder was Paul Dumbrell, who set the record in 1999, aged 17 years, 2 months and 13 days (born 1 September 1982). Dumbrell will continue to hold the record for the youngest driver to compete in the V8 Supercars Championship (Symmons Plains, Tasmania in 1999)
- Waters is still on his Learner?s Road Licence and will not sit for his Provisional Licence until the Wednesday after Bathurst
- Waters is in Year 11 at St Joseph?s College in his hometown of Mildura, Victoria (also the hometown and birthplace of Todd and Rick Kelly)
- Waters currently leads the 2011 Australian Formula Ford Championship. He was the 2010 Rookie of the Year in the same championship
- Denyer and Waters will drive Kelly Racing chassis PE047, the same chassis driven to a race victory and pole position by Rick Kelly at the ITM 400 in Hamilton, New Zealand in April
- This will be Denyer?s third Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 start, having finished ninth on debut with Alex Davison at Dick Johnson Racing in 2006, followed by 15th place with Michael Caruso at WPS Racing in 2007
STATS BY COMPARISON ?
- Other drivers to have made their Bathurst 1000 debut in their teens ?
- Paul Dumbrell ? 17 years old in 1999
- Rick Kelly ? 18 years old in 2001
- Shane van Gisbergen ? 18 years old in 2007
- Jason Bargwanna ? 18 years old in 1990
- Todd Kelly ? 19 years old in 1998
- Jamie Whincup ? 19 years old in 2002
- Tony D?Alberto ? 19 years old in 2005
NB: Craig Lowndes was 20 years old on debut in 1994
- Drivers to have made their Bathurst 1000 debut in the same year they won the Australian Formula Ford Championship ?
* Waters currently leads the 2011 Australian Formula Ford Championship by 78 points after six of eight rounds
- Jamie Whincup ? 2002 (DNF)
- Luke Youlden ? 2000 (DNF)
- Greg Ritter ? 1999 (Sixth)
- Adam Macrow ? 1998 (DNF)
- Russell Ingall ? 1990 (17th)
- Warwick Rooklyn ? 1986 (18th)
- Tomas Mezera ? 1985 (DNF)
See below for video with Cameron Waters about his Bathurst 1000 debut
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG79gW4IrgY[/YOUTUBE]
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