Former full-time driver Zane Goddard will replace Declan Fraser as the co-driver to Craig Lowndes in the Triple Eight Race Engineering Repco Bathurst 1000 Wildcard.
Racing a Triple Eight-built Chevrolet Camaro in The Great Race, Goddard follows Fraser and recent Supercars race winner Broc Feeney in partnering Lowndes.
Goddard is however the most experienced driver to team with Lowndes in the Triple Eight Wildcard having participated in Matt Stone Racing’s SuperLite program alongside Jake Kostecki in 2020, before going full-time with the squad the next season.
Last year, Goddard was an endurance driver alongside James Courtney at Tickford Racing, but the race ended on the opening lap after an incident at The Chase.
The 23-year-old is excited to receive and opportunity from Triple Eight.
“I’m super excited to be joining the team this year,” Goddard said.
“To join a team that have been so dominant in both the drivers’ and teams’ championships is amazing.
“Having Craig to learn off, not just on the track but also off the track is going to be a great experience.
“When I was younger, I loved watching Lowndesy winning races, and to now be partnering up with him for the enduro season is amazing.
“To learn off him is going to be the most valuable part; the way he is with sponsors, TV, the way he drives, the way he conducts himself – there’s a lot to learn off him.
“There’s no one better to learn off especially leading into Bathurst because he’s won so many times.”
Goddard and Lowndes have already got a head start working together after completing a recent Gen3 test together.
“I’ve been working alongside Zane for the last couple of years,” Lowndes said.
“He’s a great young kid with great speed, and a great head on his shoulders.
“My focus going into this year is to better our result from last year.
“We achieved the best result for any wildcard entry at the Bathurst 1000, so that was great.
“The problem is, you want to do that again, so my focus is to finish higher than eighth.
“You really have to take these opportunities with both hands. I know Broc did and has now migrated into the main game, same as Declan.
“Zane has been in that position, but we now want to get him back there and this is a great opportunity for it.”
The Repco Bathurst 1000 is scheduled for October 5-6.