Lanotec Ambassador Jay Robotham and Cameron Hill have put in a strong showing at the Repco Bathurst 1000, with the number 35 Truck Assist-supported Chevrolet Camaro battling through the crown jewel event on the motorsport calendar to claim a solid points finish.
With Lanotec emblazoned on the front bumper of the car, the Matt Stone Racing prepared machine looked quick throughout race week.
The event started off with solid times in the six one-hour-long practice sessions, including sixth overall for the pair in Friday’s practice three, and sixth for Robotham in the final co-driver-only session on Saturday morning, mixing it with the major players of the sport.
In Friday afternoon’s 40-minute qualifying session, Hill placed the car 14th on the grid, one place ahead of teammate Jack Le Brocq.
The race saw the combination start well behind the eight ball, with a clutch issue on the formation lap seeing the car head to the pits prior to lights out, with a speedy bleed of the system seeing the Camaro hit the circuit 30sec behind the field.
From there, battling with a clutch that was only 30% effective, Robotham and Hill fought valiantly throughout the day, also battling double stacking in the pits during the early safety car appearances.
Somewhat off sequence with the field at times, the pair were able to elevate themselves into the top ten regularly throughout the 161-lap classic.
On lap 24, the car stopped from 13th position, then 11th on lap 39, position 9 on lap 62, while with Robotham behind the wheel, the crew found themselves in third place on lap 74, battling with the ultimate podium trio of Brodie Kostecki/David Russell, Anton De Pasquale/Tony D’Alberto, and the race-winning car of Shane van Gisbergen/Richie Stanaway.
In the remaining three stops of the race, the number 35 machine pitted from seventh, seventh and sixth, although the lack of safety cars in the second half of the race conspired against the team, as they claimed 15th position after 1000km, remaining on the lead lap throughout.
The result for Robotham was three positions better than his debut Bathurst 1000 start in 2022.
“I’m happy to finish 15th in the Bathurst 1000,” he said.
“We didn’t make the grid due to a clutch issue, which was something we had to manage throughout the whole race, but we fought back.
“A big thank you to the Matt Stone Racing crew and Cameron Hill for having me this enduro season.”
Next up on the Repco Supercars Championship calendar is the Gold Coast 500 from October 28-30.
