Team 18 has announced Michael Caruso and James Golding will form the squad’s co-driver lineup for the 2021 Repco Supercars Championship.
Caruso joins on a two-year co-driver deal with Team 18 for the Bathurst 1000. A two-time Supercars race winner, Caruso was a high-profile addition to the co-driver ranks for the past two seasons and finished seventh in last year’s Bathurst 1000. Caruso will make his 16th Bathurst start this year while keeping race-fit in the TCR Australia Series.
Replicating the 2020 event, the Bathurst 1000 will be the only endurance race on the 2021 Supercars calendar.
“I’m thrilled to sign a deal with Charlie to come and co-drive with Team 18 in 2021,” said Michael Caruso.
“When you come here and see how the team operates and the progress being made behind the scenes, it was an opportunity I couldn’t refuse. Charlie’s very motivated about his motor racing, he’s been very successful in the past, he understands what it takes to achieve that success and you can see what he’s building with the guys and girls here in the team that they’re heading in the right direction.
“When you look at the names that are here, you’ve got Phil Keed and now with Richard Holloway joining, it’s an amazing leadership group with Steve Henderson as Team Manager as well, you can see everyone in the core group gets along and I think that’s a crucial part to it all.
“The continuity that this team already has taking into next year is something that I think can trip up a lot of other teams with a lot of changes happening in the off-season.
“I’m locked away to race TCR for the next two years which is pretty exciting because that keeps me actively driving, but I will be keenly watching on the boys here at Team 18 and hopefully being a part of the team throughout the year to understand how they work so when I role up to Bathurst we’re ready to go.”
Michael Caruso
“It’s really exciting to bring Michael Caruso onboard for Bathurst this year, he’s a seriously talented driver and a valuable addition to our co-driver lineup,” said Charlie Schwerkolt.
“It’s a two-year deal which is great to have that continuity within the team, and he fits the mould as a fantastic team player.
“He’s going to be a busy man between his TCR racing and completing our ride days and test days throughout the year, so his speed and race-craft will be sharp by the time we get to Bathurst.
Charlie Schwerkolt