Defending Bathurst 1000 champions Walkinshaw Andretti United has confirmed its driver pairings for this year’s race.
Fabian Coulthard steps into the seat vacated by Lee Holdsworth, partnering two-time champion Chaz Mostert, while Warren Luff will drive alongside 2011 winner Nick Percat.
Coulthard’s 13 race wins and more than 400 race starts means he and Mostert will form one of the strongest driver pairings for the race, while Luff is something of a Bathurst specialist, having finished on the podium six times since 2012 without ever standing on the top step.
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“I’m really excited to be teaming up with Chaz in the Mobil 1 Optus Racing No.25 this year, we are working really well together,” Coulthard said.
“Being close to the team inside the garage has been awesome, I felt right at home from that start, and it’s been great spending time at the track and seeing how everyone works operationally – it all helps with just the one enduro this season.
“We will have one final test day before we head to Bathurst which will be important, but I’m really excited to see what we can achieve at the mountain in October that’s for sure.”
Luff will be driving at Bathurst with the team for the ninth successive year, having partnered Mostert to a third-place finish in 2020.
“It’s fantastic to be alongside Nick this year in the Mobil 1 NTI Racing No.2, it’s been great working with him so far this year, I think we are very similar in terms of what we would like out of the car, so it’s all been really smooth,” Luff said.
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“I’ve spent a lot of time inside the garage this year which has been great, and something that wasn’t as easy the last few years, so that definitely helps as well.
“Bathurst preparations will start to ramp up soon, I’m looking forward to getting back in the car for our final test day, and then of course getting to Bathurst.”
Coulthard has openly admitted he’s looking to follow the same path as Holdsworth, who turned a Bathurst win with WAU in 2021 into a full-time return to Supercars in 2022. This will be Coulthard’s 19th Bathurst start, with his best finish of third coming in 2017.
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