The New Zealander ended his racing career in the final race of the 2019 supercar season after two years in the Australian series.
After starring in enduro as a driver in 2016 and 2017, Stanaway’s rookie supercar season with Tickford in 2018 fell far short of expectations. He nervously quit the team just one year after signing a multi-year deal.
He then had another tough season with a move to Gary Rogers Motorsport in 2019 before making a sensational call to retire at 27.
While he was thought to be lost in the sport, Stanaway was lured back by Boost Mobile boss Peter Adderton for the Bathurst 1000 wildcard.
The Erebus-run wildcard has been one of the highlights of Bathurst’s week so far, with Stanaway and Murphy set to start in fourth after the former star in wet qualifying a great game.
That’s got Stanaway considering a full-time supercar return.
“Yes, if the opportunity is right, I would consider returning full-time,” he told Motorsport.com.
“After three years on the couch, I’m definitely more qualified than some people I shouldn’t have. I got my cool suit out today, and I’ve been out since my last race. Haven’t used it, it smells like it’s in a museum.
“I don’t think anyone else has a mesh like this…”
Stanaway added that he would like to opt for any chance of a full-time return to avoid falling back into uncompetitive hardware.
However, in a candid acknowledgment, he also conceded that if a potential The return was harder than expected, and he felt better equipped to deal with disappointment.
“Because I don’t have the present, I think coming back I’ll have options and make sure it’s the right opportunity,” he said. Said.
“But if I end up coming back, for whatever reason, things don’t go as well as planned, I think I can definitely do better than I did three or four years ago Deal with these situations.”
Only one vacancy is currently expected to leave the grid for 2023, with Matt Stone Racing l looking to replace Todd Hazelwood for Blanchard Racing.
However, this seat may require budget from new drivers.
Stanway declined to comment if he was interested in MSR driving, saying instead: “I just want to focus on this weekend, focus on my driving.
” We still have 1000km ahead of us. I didn’t want to think about it until Sunday night.
“I’ve qualified so far, but the real test is the race. I want to perform in the race. Maybe if we’re not there in terms of track position, I at least want to be in the race. Approaching [Erebus lead drivers] Will [Brown] and Brodie [Kostecki] in speed. And from there.”
