Jesse Dixon, a former Bathurst 1000 wildcard, is set to return to the national racing scene after nearly a decade away. He will contest the upcoming Monochrome GT4 Australia round at Sydney Motorsport Park, joining Andre Torti in the #88 Toyota GR Supra for the Silver-Am Cup.
Dixon steps in as a substitute for regular pro driver Lachlan Evennett, who is unable to attend due to a scheduling clash with his GT4 European Series campaign at Zandvoort in the Netherlands. This marks Dixon's first national start since his final Super2 outing in Adelaide in 2016.
After stepping back from racing, Dixon transitioned into driver and sim coaching, setting up Dixon Race Academy. While this round marks his GT4 Australia debut, he is no stranger to the series, having coached up to 20 drivers across several Shannons SpeedSeries categories.
"It's my first time back at national level for 10 years, so I'm really pumped to race in a series like Monochrome GT4 Australia," Dixon said. "I will do my best to replace Lachlan and help Andrew as much as possible. While the main focus is to have a blast with him, once the helmets are on, it will all be about looking after the car, not conceding positions and going toe-to-toe with some high-level guys that have been sharp for years."
Dixon feels as good as ever, thanks to his day job coaching on the sim and at the track. "I'm also racing in Excels at the moment, and while they're not the quickest cars around a lap, it's very competitive," he added.
Interestingly, Dixon normally coaches and crew chiefs the #28 Norganic Proteins Porsche with Caleb Paterson and Kent Quinn. "It will be fun to be rivals with them that weekend in the Supra, which is pretty cool," he said. He also coaches several drivers who race on Shannons SpeedSeries weekends, including Renee Gracie, Shane Smollen, and Oscar Targett, so he's thrilled to join in with the actual helmet on for once.
Dixon's career highlights include a prominent Formula Ford stint, racing against Chaz Mostert and Nick Percat, and becoming a BMW junior driver in 2010 in the same program as future F1 stars Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat. He returned to Australia and became a V8 Utes regular, and has a single Bathurst 1000 start in 2012 alongside Cam Waters in a wildcard for Kelly Racing, after winning Season 2 of the Shannons Supercar Showdown.
Torti noted that Dixon was an easy choice to step in for Evennett. "Lachlan and I didn't realise at the start of the season that the dates clashed with the European GT4 rounds, so we had to find someone else and for me, Jesse was a natural fit," Torti said. "He's got Super2, Utes and international experience and he's our driver and sim coach, so there is a lot of familiarity there for us. Because he is also a really good guy, both Lachy and I get on well with him, so he was my instant pick."
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