Motorsport: Stanaway keen for fulltime Supercars drive

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Kiwi racing driver Richie Stanaway impressed in his debut race in the Supercars championship at Sandown over the weekend and is looking for a fulltime drive next year.

Having spent the majority of his career in Europe Stanaway flew under the radar heading into this season's endurance rounds as he partnered up with Super Black Racing's Chris Pither.

But a superb drive in tricky conditions at Sandown saw Stanaway charge through the field and make everyone sit up and take notice.

"I couldn't really ask for much more than that on debut," Stanaway told Radio Sport. "I wasn't expecting to have such a good stint in my session.

"That is the good thing about when it rains it does give you an opportunity to mix the results up a bit.

"It was probably one of the hardest scenarios I've ever been in as a driver. Being in such a high level championship and not feeling prepared for it and then the weather set in and the cars are hard to drive.

"But that was one of the reasons I wanted to get involved. As a driver you are always looking for a way to get better and I think this is a way to do that."

The 24-year-old says he has long held a desire to compete in the Australian series.

"I've always wanted to race in the Supercars series right from when I was a kid - it was what inspired me to go racing in the first place.

"It was cool to live my dream for the first time and I hope there is many more opportunities to drive in that series moving forward."

Getting that opportunity seemed a long way off until his performance over the weekend.

"I guess I am a little unknown when it comes to the Supercars paddock which is why it has been hard to get into it in the first place.

"I am really grateful for the opportunity that Super Black Racing has given me to get my feet in the door.

"A pretty decent CV from Europe doesn't carry much weight for [Supercars teams] - they want to see some results in their development series."

While only limited seats are still available ahead of next year Stanaway is hoping some more impressive displays over the next month or so will help propel him into consideration.

"I had a good stint at Sandown but I don't want to get too far ahead of myself because I could roll up to Bathurst and be two seconds off the pace and crash the car and obviously that closes all the doors.

"If I have a good race at Bathurst and Gold Coast then the situation is that I hope something would come up as an option for next year and I would love to consider it."