Team 18 has announced the signing of Tyler Everingham to partner Scott Pye at the 2022 Repco Bathurst 1000 this October.
Everingham, 21, will make his second start in The Great Race this year after he spearheaded the Garry Rogers Motorsport wildcard entry to a 19th place finish on debut in 2020, where he was engineered by Pye’s current race engineer Richard Hollway.
Hailing from the regional town of Dubbo in New South Wales, Everingham is one of the brightest young talents in the Supercars paddock and currently sits fourth in the Dunlop Super2 Series with MW Motorsport with two race wins this season at Wanneroo and Townsville.
He won the V8 Touring Car Series (now known as Super3) in 2018 before he broke through for a race win in his debut season in Super2 in 2019, earning the prestigious Mike Kable Young Gun Award for his efforts.
Everingham, who began his circuit racing career at 15 years of age in Formula 4, also brings endurance miles at Mount Panorama with a third-place class finish with MARC Cars at the Bathurst 12 Hour in 2018, and two starts at the Bathurst 6 Hour.
Everingham’s first laps behind the wheel of the #20 Nulon Racing Team 18 Supercar will be in the co-driver session at the Sandown SuperSprint on Friday 19 August.
Everingham will also participate in the team’s passenger ride day on the following Monday, before the team’s pre-Bathurst test day at Winton on Wednesday 28 September.
“It’s really exciting to team up with Scott Pye and Team 18 for the Bathurst 1000 this year,” said Everingham.
“I’m extremely determined to make the most of this opportunity, it’s one of the best seats on the grid at the moment for a co-drive so it was pretty special to get the call up from Charlie to join the team for Bathurst.
“The wildcard in 2020 was extremely valuable, that was my first time in the 1000 and to be the main driver in that entry was a great experience. I had Richard Hollway as our engineer that year, so it’s cool to team up with him again and learn from him and Scott over the next couple of months as we prepare for the race.
“Scott has proven to be one of the top drivers at the mountain over the years, so I’ll be working hard to soak up as much as I can from him to ensure we put ourselves in a good position to be a contender at the end of the race.
“The co-driver session at Sandown will be extremely valuable to work with Scott and the team to build those relationships and processes so we’re best prepared when we get to Mount Panorama.
“A massive thanks to Charlie Schwerkolt, Bruin Beasley, Scott Pye and everyone at Team 18 for the chance to join them and I can’t wait to turn my first laps with the team at Sandown.”
Pye was thrilled to reward his co-drive to one of the top talents from the Super2 ranks.
“It’s really exciting to have Tyler locked in, I’m looking forward to getting to the mountain and having Tyler locked away now means we can start to really focus and push forward with our preparation into that event.
“Communication is key within a race team and Charlie [Schwerkolt] is a big advocate for that. We had a lot of open and ongoing discussions about who our co-driver was going to be. Once Tyler came up we kept a very close eye on him and he’s been doing a fantastic job in Super2 so it was really a no-brainer to get him locked away and it was a decision I was really happy with.
“It’s really important to support young talent coming through. I was there once and I was given my shot in the main game and grabbed it with both hands and did the best I could in my first endurance event, and I’m excited that we’re giving Tyler that opportunity as well, for him to get his first proper crack at Bathurst with us is a really good opportunity for him. He’s young and keen and I think in terms of our sport it’s really good to try and bring in new young talent as well and back what the junior categories are delivering. Tyler’s been doing a fantastic job so I think he’s going to be a great asset to our team.
“Bathurst is coming up fast, we have Sandown in the very short term with a co-drivers session there, so hopefully that practice goes well for him and gets a good feel of the car, but Bathurst is a race that you think about all year, straight-line speed is a huge one there, so our preparation has certainly begun and my thought process around has been ongoing for quite some time, so I’m excited to get to the mountain and it can’t come soon enough.
Team Owner Charlie Schwerkolt said Tyler was a standout from the selection of drivers to choose from for the co-drive.
“We’re extremely thrilled to welcome Tyler to the team to join up with Scott for Bathurst.
“We had a host of drivers to choose from for the seat and Tyler stood out amongst the pack for someone with his pace and experience at the mountain for his age.
“What really stood out for us was his attitude and approach to racing, he shows maturity well beyond his years and he has fitted in well with the crew for the time he has spent with the team already.
“Bathurst is only two months away, so we’ve already began to integrate him in with the team and we’ll be sure to give him plenty of miles between now and then with the co-driver session at Sandown, a ride day and a test day before we get to the mountain.
“We’re excited to encourage young talent into the championship and we’ll put our best foot forward to give him the tools to execute at his best for Scott and the team when we get to Bathurst.”
Team 18 will continue its preparation for the upcoming Sandown SuperSprint on 19-21 August.