Chris Pither confirms Dunlop Series return

MotorNews.co.nz

MotorNews.co.nz9:20pm 23 January 2013

chrispither-helmet

Comebacks are rare in the world of motorsport but Chris Pither has earned a second chance says Ice Break CEO Craig Garvin, who will support the racer’s campaign this year.

Pither, who will compete in this year’s Dunlop V8 Supercar Series, thought his racing days were numbered after crashing heavily in the 2008 Bathurst 1000 when co-driving for Team Kiwi.

Brad Jones enlisted him as a co-driver for last year’s V8 Supercar Season of Endurance, however, when the 2011 Australian Ute Racing Series Champion proved to be a talented and intelligent racer.

Garvin believes teaming up with BJR, using Fabian Coulthard’s 2012 Commodore, is Pither’s best chance at showcasing his talent and progressing his career.

The 2013 Dunlop V8 Supercar Series will kick off in Adelaide at the Clipsal 500 next month. In addition to this, Pither is hoping to raise the budget to provide another youngster with a ute championship drive after managing a successful scholarship programme with Ice Break in 2012 for Jesse Dixon and Andrew Waite.

Chris Pither
Ice Break Racing Driver
“It’s definitely taken a long time to get back to this point. I didn’t drive in Australia at all for two years after the accident so I had a lot of time to think about it.

“Winning the ute championship with Ice Break was a massive achievement in itself and I was rapt with that so if I’d never made it back that would have ticked the box, but to do Sandown and Bathurst last year was pretty special for me. That was four years since I had driven a V8 Supercar so it was a dream come true for me and I was very grateful for the chance.

“I really enjoyed the races with the team last year. Brad Jones Racing is a great bunch of enthusiastic racers and everyone puts 100% effort in, which will be good this year. Hopefully it’s going to lead onto bigger and better things and I’m just so grateful to everyone who’s supported my comeback, Ice Break and everyone else.”

Craig Garvin
CEO, Ice Break
“We’ve worked with Chris for a number of years now and I’ve been impressed with his approach. He’s clearly very talented but he’s a smart racer as well. He knows when to take risks and when to consolidate.

“He’s been a fantastic ambassador for Ice Break, representing the true “Bring it On” spirit that the brand represents. Moving to the DVS is the logical next step in his ambitions to get into the V8 Supercar series and it’s an exciting step for us as a brand.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

Scott McLaughlin’s season in review

11:22am 9 January 2014

V8 Supercars
0

When reviewing 2013, many V8 Supercars drivers named rookie Scott McLaughlin as the best performing driver for the season….  More >

Frenchman Alexandre Premat this afternoon released a statement confirming he will not drive for Garry Rogers Motorsport this season. “After…  More >

V8 Supercar star Will Davison will race for Erebus Motorsport in 2014 and beyond, it was confirmed today. Davison, third…  More >

Key management change for Nissan Motorsport

3:02pm 6 January 2014

V8 Supercars
0

sinclair_nissanms_small

Nissan Motorsport has made a significant management change ahead of the 2014 V8 Supercars Championship. The factory Nissan team has…  More >

SVG’s 2013 Review – “Keeping busy is the key”

9:00am 2 January 2014

Fast Company
0

13V8SupercarsShanevanGisbergen-1

Some say you can have too much of a good thing. Not Shane Van Gisbergen. As the 24-year-old Kiwi…  More >

2014 could be BJR’s year

7:15am 23 December 2013

V8 Supercars
0

Crop_Bright_Fabs

Encouraged by his speed and podium finish at the grand finale, V8 Supercars stalwart Jason Bright has declared next…  More >

RACE COUNTDOWN

NZV8

Round 2

Teretonga Park, Invercargill, 12 January

NZV8

Round 3

Timaru, 19 January

V8 SuperTourers

Round 1

Highlands Park, Cromwell, 26 January

  • Latest headlines

  • CRC Motornews poll

    Who do you think will be top of the Kiwi drivers in this years V8 Supercar Championship?

      View Results

    Loading ... Loading ...
  • Latest story comments

  • Newsletter icon

    Get the latest motorsport news delivered to your inbox