Bargwanna duo set for Bathurst challenge
By Nathan Weatherhead
After 17 years apart, Warragul local and former Bathurst winner Jason Bargwanna is reuniting with Garry Rogers Motorsport.
Bargwanna, 47, has secured a seat for the next two years in a Peugeot 308, racing in the TCR Australia Series which will see him team up with a special co driver, his son, 18 year old Ben for a new event, the 500km TCR Bathurst International later this year.
Garry Rogers Motorsport gave Bargwanna his first opportunity as a professional racing driver in 1998, giving the team a Bathurst victory when he and Garth Tander crossed the line first in 2000.
Now, Bargwanna said he is extremely excited to race alongside his son Ben, which was one of the motivations for taking up the position.
“One of my motivations is to team-up with my son Ben for the new endurance race at Bathurst. Having the chance to race alongside your own son in the same car is rare. We’ve seen the likes of the Setons, Johnsons and the Richards families do it at Bathurst, and I feel privileged to be able to share a car at such a special track,” he said.
Ben, who has just finished his schooling at St Paul’s Anglican Grammar in Warragul, had a very successful debut season in Formula Ford, showing he can match it with some of the best drivers around. He’s also no stranger to the Mount Panorama circuit, winning the inaugural Hyundai Excel Challenge as a 16 year old, before also taking out the Victorian State Championship in 2018 before stepping up to national-level Formula Ford this year.
He said that being able to race alongside his dad was a dream come true.
“To race in a TCR endurance race alongside my dad at Mount Panorama is unthinkable. It’s a dream come true,” said Ben. “He has been to all of my karting, Hyundai Excel and Formula Ford races, and we have a lot of fun and success together, so it’s very exciting that we’ll be able to share the same car.”
Bargwanna will confirm his sponsorship partners before the start of the 2020 season, with the first event to be held at Albert Park where the inaugural TCR Asia Pacific Cup will be run supporting the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.