Cowra's own Patrick Buttigieg has helped steer Penrite Racing into the history books playing a crucial role in their first-ever Bathurst 1000 win with Grove Racing.
As Lead Chassis Technician on car 19 (car 100 at the Bathurst 1000 to mark 100 years of Penrite Oil), Patrick was part of the team that delivered Ford's first Bathurst 1000 win since 2019 - only the second in the past decade - and clinched the prestigious Enduro Cup.
The win also secured Penrite Racing second place in the Supercars Championship heading into the finals, with both team cars now finals bound.
For Patrick the moment was surreal and still hasn't quite sunk in yet.
"I think I walked 10 kilometres around the garage in that last hour," he said.
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"I was pacing, sitting with my head in my hands just trying to keep the nerves down."
The race was a thriller for six hours and 42 minutes where young driver Matt Payne, who made his Supercars debut at the Bathurst 1000 in 2022, surged from third to first with just five laps to go after contact was made between Golding and Murray who were leading in front of Payne.
Starting from position 18 after a tough qualifying session on the Friday, Payne and co-driver Garth Tander became the first to win the race from that grid position and despite only leading for a total of four laps, they made them count.
Patrick has been with the team for nearly three years, working his way up from the number two mechanic to lead technician on car 19.
"I manage all the mechanical aspects of the car, work closely with the race engineer and lead a team of three mechanics to make sure the car is ready to perform at the highest level," Patrick explained.
“I manage all the mechanical sides of the car. I perform all the repairs, service, any changes that need to be made and set up changes that need to be made. I work closely with Jack Bell who is the race engineer on the car.
“On race weekends I am the lead mechanic of three in total.
"I have a number two and a number three mechanic, and I manage the workload and make sure the car is out on track on time and ready to perform at the highest level.”
He is also a member of the pit crew.
Patric's career began in Cowra at Peter Bruem Automotive Repairs at age 15, before he moved on to Canberra for five years for a change of pace and then made the leap into Supercars which is something he has always dreamed about.
“I was always a Ford fan growing up. I remember the first time they presented the Peter Brock Trophy in 2006, I was about 11 years old and I remember them presenting it to Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup after they broke a Holden winning streak. I remember being at the track when Ford won for the first time in basically my whole life at that point.
“Now, actually having a hand in building the car that won it (the Bathurst 1000) and being able to hold the trophy myself as a winning member of the team is bit of a dream come true for a young kid,” Patrick said.
The Bathurst win was especially meaningful for Patrick as he said, “It felt like a home race.”
But the win didn’t come without its close calls.
“There were definitely things we found after the race that could’ve cost us the win if it had gone on much longer.
“To win Bathurst, you need excellent preparation, excellent execution and a whole lot of luck, especially in those changeable conditions, a lot of things can go wrong but we had a very good day.”
Looking ahead, Penrite Racing is focused on maintaining momentum through the final rounds.
“Matt’s only a few points off the championship lead. We’ve got both cars in the finals and we’re confident heading into the street circuits – Matt is a very good street circuit racer so we’re confident and excited to see what he can do and we’ll just keep giving him the tools he needs to succeed,” Patrick added.
For Patrick, the support from Cowra has made the last three years even more special.
“It’s been really cool to see how excited everyone back home is and everyone who knows me knows how much I love motorsport. To win multiple races and a big race like Bathurst in my first three years in the sport – I’m a pretty lucky guy.”
"Thank you to my family for supporting me to chase my dream," Patrick added.
