Many questioned Garry Rogers’ decision to bring Alexandre Prémat to Supercars for the 2012 season, given the vast differences of the category to anything the Frenchman had raced before.
Fast forward to 2019 and Prémat is a Bathurst 1000 winner and an elite level co-driver. His partnership with Scott McLaughlin is a formidable one, and the pair netted their first Great Race title in 2019, edging McLaughlin closer to his second consecutive drivers’ championship.
Whilst McLaughlin takes most of the plaudits and attention for the win, Prémat was the underrated and understated safe pair of hands that kept the car clean and in position for McLaughlin to take advantage, while the Frenchman battled more fancied co-drivers such as Craig Lowndes and Garth Tander.
The partnership is one of the longest-running endurance combinations in the field, with Prémat and McLaughlin teaming up for five enduro campaigns across two teams. Aside from a one-year fling with Shane van Gisbergen at Triple Eight Race Engineering, which saw Prémat win a PIRTEK Enduro Cup, the McLaughlin-Prémat combination is one of the most cohesive on the grid.
Prémat arrived in Supercars in 2012 with an impressive CV that featured GP2 wins, with future Formula 1 world champions Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton as teammates, a Macau Grand Prix win, an A1 Grand Prix title, four seasons in the competitive DTM and four Le Mans 24 Hours starts. Rogers took a chance on the Frenchman, despite the struggle of many internationals to get to grips with the Australian V8-powered beasts.
A tough 2012 saw him dropped for the Gold Coast, while he missed the final race of the season in Sydney through heat exhaustion (ironically to be replaced by McLaughlin) and drew the ire of his competitors with many on-track run-ins.
Esta historia es de la edición December 2019 - January 2020 Issue 114 de V8X Supercar Magazine.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición December 2019 - January 2020 Issue 114 de V8X Supercar Magazine.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
The F1 Legends At The Mountain
The recently departed Sir Stirling Moss is recognised as the best Formula 1 driver never to win the drivers’ world championship, but his illustrious career extended to many other categories, including an often forgotten appearance in the Bathurst 1000 alongside another legend of the sport.
Right On Track: Sprinting Back Into Action
The Virgin Australia Supercars Championship returns with shorter sprint races on the reworked calendar in 2020.
Beyond The Wheel: Racing Virtually
Racing online in the BP Supercars All Stars Eseries was a new experience for me. While there were some carryover traits from racing in real life, there were also some significant differences.
Top 10 Seasons
Top 10 Seasons
The Inside Story: The New Normal
As we prepare for the return of racing, the whole Supercars pitlane is wondering how things will look. And work.
Top 10 (Multi-Car) Crashes
10 mount panorama circuit 2014
TOP 10 MAKES
TOP 10 MAKES
VIRTUAL MOVES
The BP Supercars All Stars Eseries provided some racing during the suspension of the season, paving the way for more regular virtual contests.
VIRTUAL REALITY
The BP Supercars All Stars Eseries has paved the way for Supercars to further embrace virtual racing, opening up an important avenue to attract and engage with new audiences for the category
1960 – 2020 TOP 60 DRIVERS
Who are the greatest drivers in the 60-year history of the Australian Touring Car Championship/Supercars? We rank the top 60 with an emphasis on best championship finishes, race-winning percentage and competitive longevity. Only drivers with top 10 championship finishes were considered, to emphasise championship performances over part-time or endurance campaigns. Also, results from the Bathurst 1000 and other endurance events were only factored in when they were part of the championship.
