Experienced Supercar driver Steve Owen is rejoining the BNT V8 SuperTourers for the big ITM 500 meeting at Pukekohe over Anzac weekend.
The Queensland-based driver, 39, will race Wayne Anderson’s Holden Commodore, the car formerly driven by Andy Booth, at the final round of the 2014 championship, where the Kiwi cars are the top support act for the V8 Supercars.
Owen has had four seasons as a full-time V8 Supercar driver and has twice won the Supercars Development Series. He is in great demand as a co-driver for the long-distance races and in this role in 2010 he shared a race win with Jamie Whincup at Surfers Paradise and finished second in the Bathurst 1000km race.
Last year he and Will Davison finished third in the Sandown 500 race, driving for Ford Performance Racing.
“I’d say Steve is the best non-full-time V8 Supercar driver,” Anderson said.
“We want to get the car out there for Pukekohe for the Supercar meeting and I wanted to have a good driver.”
The car has not raced yet this season, but Anderson is planning to field it in the endurance races later this year.
At first Anderson wanted to put young Kiwi Nick Cassidy, twice winner of the Toyota Racing Series, in the car but Cassidy is in Europe trying to organise a single-seater drive there.
“He drove Murphy’s car at Taupo and he was fast, they won an endurance race there,” Anderson said. “He reckons he’ll be able to do the endurance races.”
The Australian driver was recommended to Anderson by Paul Ceprnich, whose Pace Innovations company in Queensland designed the chassis for the BNT V8 SuperTourers. Ceprnich will come across to work on the car’s setup.
Owen has raced the BNT V8 SuperTourers before as a co-driver, last year with Eddie Bell, so he will have no trouble adjusting to the Kiwi car.
