Photo credit: Colson Photography

Jackson Rice will this year contest in the National Trans Am Series, a step up from last year’s TA2 Series. The young rising star will continue to run under the Victorian-based stable, Dream Racing Australia for a second year, after coming away with a third-place finish in the TA2 Championship in 2023.  

 

Rice will take to the track for the first round of the season this weekend at Sandown Raceway, at the Shannons SpeedSeries, which kicks off Friday 9th February.  

 

“Round 1 has come up super quickly,” admitted Rice.  

 

“I’m really looking forward to taking the leap into the Trans Am Series this year. We had a really great year last year with Dream Racing Australia in TA2 and I’m hoping that this year will continue to challenge us, whilst also battling against some different drivers!  

 

“It’s been a really busy offseason, and I can’t thank the guys at Dream Racing enough for all the work that they’ve put in to get the car ready. We stripped the car back (I even got in and helped), over Christmas and had the car back to just the chassis and refreshed all the major components of the car.  

 

“The car has almost had a full rebuild so, I’m really excited to get to it this year. I have a lot of confidence in the car and to go into the first round feeling this comfortable, is a really good start and a great place to be.” 

 

There’s been a lot of talk about the rise in competition set for this year’s Trans Am Series, with plenty of big names set to take the field including Todd Hazlewood, Tim Slade, James Golding as well as the return of veteran and reigning champion, James Moffat – just to name a few. However, Rice views this as an opportunity rather than a problem.  

 

“It’s going to be super tough competition this year, there’s a lot of guys from Supercars coming into the category, which will be a great opportunity to understand where we sit against those guys, but I’m really looking forward to it,” said Rice.  

 

“I certainly see it as a positive thing – it’ll help me to develop my race craft, so there’s plenty of learning to be done. I’m looking forward to hitting the year hard and really getting in there and learning as much as possible.  

 

“I haven’t been to Sandown for 12 months, so I’m super pumped to get back there. It’s one of my favourite tracks to go race at. I find the racing is always pretty awesome and the track has a bit of everything.  

 

“Overall, it’s quite a fast track and Dandenong Road is quite speedy. I love the complex from turns 1, 2 and 3 – up and over the curbs and onto two wheels, which always makes for some awesome photos.  

 

“I’m hoping the weather holds out this weekend. Sandown is generally renowned for its wet weather, so it’s great that this event is at the start of the year and hopefully we’ll have a pretty dry weekend.  

 

“A massive thank you to everybody that has helped us to get here and to those who have continued their partnerships from last year. A big welcome to our new sponsors too, I wouldn’t be here without you all, so I’m forever grateful.” 

 

The SpeedSeries will be televised live and free on 7plus and 7mate throughout the weekend – https://www.speedseries.com.au/race-sandown/