Dixon feeling the pressure ahead of Bathurst debut

Scott Dixon has admitted that he’s feeling the pressure to perform as he joins Rick Kelly and Jake Dennis for this year’s Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour.

A hugely successful open-wheel and sportscar driver, Dixon has never previously raced at Bathurst.

That is set to change as he teams up with R-Motorsport to pilot an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 alongside Kelly and Dennis in this year’s event.

“It’s a style of car which is probably not too different to the Ford GT,” Dixon told Speedcafe.com.

“It’s got a pretty good amount of downforce, the ABS I think will be the biggest thing.”

The biggest challenge however, according to Dixon, will be coming to terms with the 6.2 kilometre Mount Panorama circuit.

“Honestly I think it’s more the track than the car,” he said of the challenge ahead.

“(The car) Will be something that I’ve driven before, or close to, but it will be more of a circuit trying to get up to speed as quick as possible.

“So, just going in with an open mind and trying to learn as much as I can and be really annoying to probably Rick and Jake and trying to understand how to wheel a car around it.”

Driving the previous model Aston Martin in last year’s event, Dennis starred as he battled with Matt Campbell for the race lead in the closing laps.

Though Dennis was ultimately bested, the prospect of joining the highly rated youngster and 2006 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 winner Kelly is a daunting one.

“Yeah, I do,” admitted Dixon when asked if he was feeling the pressure.

“It is hard kind of going into situations like that, but you also want to be with a team that you know is going to be able to help you progress a lot quicker.

“I do like kind of getting out of my wheelhouse and learning and try to understand different things and different processes and you know, you can definitely get stuck at ecosystems.

“So it’s nice to branch out a little bit.

“So, I’ll put my head down and try to be a good addition to the team and hopefully we have a smooth race.”

The Bathurst 12 Hour, which released its entry list on Tuesday, is set to run from January 31 to February 2.