It has been a long absence for Julian Fameliaris in the Mobil 1 V8 Supercars championship, but he is eager to return to Zwartkops Raceway this coming weekend (January 27-29) for the 2022 season opener that will form part of the annual Passion For Speed event.
Fameliaris’ previous outing was the 2021 edition of the event, held in June. Since then a series of COVID-19 related calendar changes resulted in him missing the remainder of the season while being abroad. But with a maiden victory next to his name and with his last three race finishes all seeing him stepping onto the podium, the Lube-Net / Di Matteo Racing Chevrolet Corvette driver is feeling confident ahead of his fourth season in the series.
“Despite a few DNFs in between, we have been consistently competitive in the races” says Fameliaris. “We have had a great amount of time to sort some of the issues that hampered us and it is now time to remain a regular front-end contender.”
While Fameliaris is also entered to take part in the postponed 2021 season finale the following weekend as part of the Kyalami 9 Hour, he does not find himself in a position of significance on the points table. This factor can potentially provide him with an advantage going into the season opener.
“Pace-wise, we are competing with the three contenders for the 2021 title as well as the guys in the battle for fourth place, but we are not really in the hunt for anything in that season anymore. There is a risk factor that comes into a double-header situation like what we have in the next two weeks, but we don’t have that sort of sword hanging over us. Of course, there’s no chance that we will go out and try anything reckless, nor will we not put in a serious effort for Kyalami. But we will have that little bit more freedom to play with when it comes down to pushing that little bit harder for instance. So it is a fresh start for us, we can head into this round with our full focus on the 2022 season ahead, make a good start to it and capitalise from there.”
The weekend will consist of a three-day programme, starting with a host of official and unofficial practice sessions on Thursday and the first half of Friday. Qualifying is scheduled for 15:10 on Friday. Saturday’s two 12-lap races are scheduled for 10:00 and 16:15.
Spectator tickets, limited to 2 000 under the current State of Disaster regulations, can be purchased via https://www.zwartkops.co.za/event/passion-for-speed-2022. The full Passion For Speed event will also be streamed live via the Julian Fameliaris Racing Facebook page and 2WheelsTV YouTube channels.
Produced and distributed by Brandsponential on behalf of Julian Fameliaris
