Zach Bates racing for his late mother Alison Drower in Bathurst 1000 debut

Bates will make his debut at Mount Panorama in Supercars this Sunday, racing alongside seven-time Peter Brock Trophy winner Craig Lowndes in the wildcard care run by Triple 888 racing.

He follows in the footsteps of current main game drivers Cooper Murray and Broc Feeney who also raced in the wildcard before both moved into full-time drives.

But the excitement of making his first appearance comes as Bates deals with the loss of his mother, Alison Drower, who died from cancer at the age of 61 a couple of weeks ago.

The team will run a special tribute sticker, which features Zach, his father – former rally driver and Supercar driver Rick Bates – and his mother at the top of the car to honour her.

Bates revealed she’ll be with him all the way this weekend as he attacks Mount Panorama in the Great Race.

“I’m doing it for my mum, who lost her battle with cancer 10 days ago,” he said.

“She’s super strong and it was hard to see that.

“It’s really special to be here to be honest, I never thought in my wildest dreams that it would amount to something like this (Bathurst 1000 debut).

“It wasn’t that long ago we were at a kart track, mum, dad and I.”

Since those days on the kart track, Bates has worked his way to Supercars, finishing runner-up in the Toyota 86 series in 2022 and winning last year’s Super 2 – the feeder series to Supercars – with Walkinshaw Andretti United.

He’s also racing Super 2 this weekend with Eggleston Motorsport.

The major focus is on Supercars and helping Lowndes to win one more Bathurst 1000 before he moves to Team 18 next year to run a wildcard with them.

He said the weekend was a dream come true after sitting on the couch as a young kid watching Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup win for Triple 888 in 2008.

“Craig and the team have been incredible, supporting me and having me along,” Bates said.

“It’s been an amazing experience so far.

“It’s pretty amazing to see all the support Craig gets.

“It really is his place and special to be a part of that.

“To be able to make my debut with Craig is incredible.

“It is his last one with Triple 888 as well which makes it special.

“It’s going to be a big weekend, so I’m just going to put my best foot forward.”

Bates said Lowndes has helped him settle and prepare for the biggest weekend of his motorsport career.

“In Super 2 we only do these short races, so he’s been a lot of help getting me ready for the long races and how they flow,” he said.

“In Super 2 we go gung ho the whole race but here you have to pick your fights, save your tyres and fuel, and stuff like that, nothing we have to think about in Super 2.

“The advice has been invaluable.”

Bates and Lowndes finished 27th and in Practice 1 and 2 on Thursday.