THERE was a time when Tyler Everingham pretended to be the great Peter Brock taking on the best drivers in Australia, but now he no longer has to use his imagination.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Next week the Dubbo 21-year-old will be doing one of the things Brock became famous for - he'll be testing his skills at Mount Panorama in the Bathurst 1000.
He will be sharing the seat of the Team 18 Alspec Racing Holden Commodore of Scott Pye and taking on many of the drivers he grew up watching.
"I started when I was 10-years-old, it's all happened pretty quick, you've got to stand back sometimes and look at it," Everingham said.
"I started in karts when I was 10 and jumped into a race cars when I was 15.
"I probably would've at one point pretended to be Brocky to be honest, he was pretty special for the sport and he's done some pretty special things."
READ ALSO:
Though Everingham will be one of the youngest drivers on the grid for this year's Bathurst 1000, he isn't a Great Race rookie.
He actually made his debut in the endurance epic two years ago when steering a Garry Rogers Motorsport wildcard entry with Jayden Ojeda.
Though they finished in 19th and 40 laps down on victors Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander, it was experience Everingham learned plenty from.
Everingham has also raced at Bathurst in the Super2 Series, he's had two starts in the Bathurst 12 Hour, he's driven in the Bathurst 6 Hour and cut laps during Challenge Bathurst.
In fact every time the Dubbo talent has been to the iconic circuit he thinks of as his home track it has been to race.
"I never got the opportunity to head there as a spectator, I've only been there as a driver so that's a little bit different," he said.
"Absolutely I think of it as my home track, it's extremely close to us, it's pretty cool to drive two hours up the road and be at a circuit like Mount Panorama.
It was only in August that Everingham, who currently sits fifth in the Super2 Series, was confirmed as Pye's co-driver.
Pye, who has twice finished on the Bathurst podium, said at the time: "It was really a no-brainer to get him locked away."
Everingham himself was delighted to be part of Team 18's enduro line-up and has already learned plenty from Pye.
"It's pretty special isn't it? I doesn't happen often so any opportunity is good one to drive at Bathurst," he said.
"They're a really strong performing team, they've had some solid results, so yeah, it's pretty special to run with them and to run with someone like Scott who is super experienced. To have someone like him to learn off is pretty cool.
"It's just those little one percenters you've got to get right to get time out of a Supercar, it's about getting all those little things right. We had a really successful test day at Winton so I feel confident heading into Bathurst."
Naturally Everingham and Pye will be aiming to get on the Bathurst podium, but it also isn't lost on the former Mike Kable Young Gun Award winner how far he's come in such a short time.
"It's all gone very quick, sort of blink and you'll miss it, so it's pretty cool to get the call up and jump in with someone like Scott Pye and go to Bathurst," he said.
"Everyone wants to be on the top step of the podium there, but it's just about doing the best you can and getting all the little things right."
The opening practice session of this year's Bathurst 100 will start at 11am, Thursday, October 6.
