Ryal Harris is heading to Bathurst full of confidence as he looks to breach the gap on his rivals. The VIP Petfoods driver currently sits in third position on the series ladder and as the only driver in the top 4 with a DNF to his name, to still be within striking distance is pleasing, although he would much rather be in the lead!

"The DNF at Townsville really cost me valuable points and the round win, I could have kept driving around with one axle spilling oil everywhere, but I don't think that’s fair to my fellow competitors."
Harris also has some new sponsors to announce before heading into battle at Bathurst announcing Supercheap Auto as a new partner for the weekend.

"It makes sense for them to be on my car, they sponsor the whole event and wanted to be on a front running car, hopefully I can deliver them a victory!"

Also on board are ROYLANCES, this Australian owned family company specialise in automotive, industrial, earthmoving, and mining equipment and are based at Cobar, Melbourne and Forbes. They have supported Harris every year he has raced at Bathurst watching from the corporate box on pit lane; they are excited to be part of Harris’s quest for the title.
Harris is looking to make this a successful weekend as he is also set to celebrate his 150th Race start on Saturday for Race 1.

After Bathurst the Gold Coaster will head to his local round where he has once again picked up support from Shooters Superclub who will have a flock of grid girls prowling around promoting the Shooters club, which will again also host the official V8 Ute after Party.

Harris, as part of his sponsorship will judge Miss Pit Stop pet, a new modelling competition that shooters run.

“It's a tough gig, but someone has to do it! And also on board for the Armor All Gold Coast 600 is All Purpose Pest Control, to keep the pests at bay! This Yatala based company provide a great service, and will be looking for a good result with Ryal and Peter Burnitt running the logo on the Ute’s over the race weekend.

Some other personal sponsors which Ryal is very excited to announce are 'Wag International’ who carry the three prestigious watch brands, Welder, Tendence and Gaga Milano. Ryal has signed on to become a brand ambassador for the company, proudly wearing the watches.

Harris is debuting his welder timepiece at Bathurst and hopes it brings him good luck.

"The watches are remarkable, made by the same people who produce U-Boat. My new welder watch is amazing. I stare at it every day and play around with it like a kid! I love watches! I think every bloke does."

Also signed on as a personal partner is Sly Underwear, a Gold Coast based Underwear Company on the up.

“They are currently stocked in City Beach they have amazing graphics and fit beautifully.”

The Big Gun Racing team held their corporate ride day in August, and during the mid-season break Ryal worked with Mercedes and Paul Stokell with his Lotus days, so he will come into Bathurst with no rust and will be right on the money.

“The Big Gun team prepares my car so well; I am full of confidence heading into Bathurst and will be out for victory. The data available this year has helped my driving I think, and I can pick on my team mates a little more now as well! We all sit down and review our footage and data, I think as a team we are moving forward and learning from one another. I love going away racing with the boys, it's a fun weekend but I’m very much focused on bringing them the first round win, for not only the team but for myself.”

The team is focused on the title and will be doing all they can to give Ryal the best shot at it with Brad getting right up on the podium also.

VIP Petfoods are very happy with the exposure they have received so far this year, and with some good results, will hopefully resign with the team over the Bathurst weekend.

The next two rounds are two of Ryal's favourite tracks and he plans on winning both of them. He has had the speed all year, a little bad luck but hopefully that is all gone and podiums are on the horizon!

Ryal would like to thank all the sponsors who have supported him so far this year, Cleaner Energy, Ask Huey, Go Tech Security and of course VIP Petfoods. 
Harris would also like to extend a massive thank you to the Big Gun Racing Team and in particular Peter Burnitt for giving him the chance to race this year and Joe for running a great team.

Look out in the near future for Ryal's website, this will be up and running within the next month.