McLean joins famed list of Mike Kable Award winners

Dunlop Super2 Series rising star Matt McLean has been named the Mike Kable Award winner for 2021.

End-of-season award presentations continued on Friday, with the announcements to feature throughout the Repco Bathurst 1000 broadcast.

The karting ace from Berwick in Victoria moved into Super2 this year after winning consecutive Australian karting titles.

Driving an Eggleston Motorsport Commodore, McLean has impressed in his debut season, taking out Lets Go Motorhomes Rookie of the Round three consecutive times.

The Young Gun Award, which was implemented in 1999, recognises an outstanding first-year Supercars driver under 30 years of age.

Only three drivers were eligible this year, McLean, MW Motorsport’s Declan Fraser and Erebus Academy driver Jaylyn Robotham.

Previous winners include Chaz Mostert (2011), Scott McLaughlin ('13), Cameron Waters (’16), Will Brown (’17) and Thomas Randle (’18).

“This is something I have dreamed of since I was a kid,” McLean told Supercars.com.

“Now that I'm here and to get the Young Gun Award is awesome.

“The people that have received this award in the past is just really cool, there are some serious names on there, and it's really special to me to be a part of it.

“Of course, I still want to try and finish in the top five in the series, so I’ll be trying to bring that home this weekend.

“It’s going to be a really close fight, particularly as Declan [Fraser] is unfortunately out this weekend, which sucks.

“It's unfortunate for him but it has worked in my favour in a sense.

“It’s really good and it's just awesome to come and mountain, it's just so special to any motorsport fan and race driver.

“For anyone, it's just a seriously awesome place to be.”

“Thanks to everyone at Eggleston Motorsport and my sponsors, I wouldn’t be here without them.”

Supercars will return to the track on Friday for ARMOR ALL Qualifying at 4:35pm AEDT. Click here to view the track schedule.

Every session of the event will be broadcast live on Foxtel (Fox Sports 503) and streamed on Kayo.

The Seven Network will provide live free to air coverage of the event. Tickets for the event are on sale now.