Third-gen Richards, Kiwi ace among rising stars for evaluation

Walkinshaw Andretti United will hand a number of rising stars a chance to impress at an upcoming evaluation day at Winton Motor Raceway.

WAU will use Thursday to not only shake down a new Ford Mustang chassis for Chaz Mostert, but also put some young drivers to the test.

The team will run three cars at Winton, namely Mostert's new car, its Super2 Holden ZB Commodore driven by rookie Campbell Logan this year, and a Toyota GR Cup car.

The Commodore will be driven on the day by rising stars Tom Hayman, Matthew Hillyer, Clay Richards and Kaleb Ngatoa. The Toyota, meanwhile, will be steered by Ben Stewart, Will Longmore, Sam Bates, Toby Dvorak, Royce Lyne and Lincoln Taylor.

Hillyer is embedded in the WAU family, while the third-generation Richards also steered a Supercar at the end of 2023. Kiwi driver Ngatoa has also sampled a Supercar, driving a PremiAir Nulon Racing Gen3 Camaro in Sydney earlier this year.

Hayman will get his first laps in a Supercar, with the Novocastrian racing in Trans Am and GT4 this year.

WAU's own Supercars graduate Ryan Wood will complete 10 laps in the Commodore to set a baseline for the young drivers, while team mentor Warren Luff will support the Toyota programme.

WAU is set to enter 2025 with at least one change to its Super2 roster, with 2024 champion Zach Bates linked to a move to Eggleston Motorsport.

Mostert's new car, WR29, will replace the Ford that the two-time Bathurst winner has raced since the start of the 2023 season.

The old car, WR28, car was sold via auction in September. However, it will be retained by WAU as a spare through the end of 2025.