Shepparton’s Garry Jacobson gears up for Bathurst 1000 return following 12 months off the grid

But he can pack away the lycra, as this weekend Jacobson returns for the Bathurst 1000.

However, it will be in a different capacity from when he last graced the V8 mecca two years prior.

The 31-year-old was announced by Tickford Racing earlier in the year as a co-driver, a role he hasn’t played since his formative days on the tarmac.

It’s also a welcome homecoming for Jacobson, who is reunited with his old team years after his Super2 Championship success in 2016.

“It’s a good experience for me to just get back into racing,” he said.

“I’ve obviously had a lot of success over the years and decided to take 12 months off in the middle of last year, and when Tickford approached me to be a co-driver for them I had nothing but good memories with them.

“Obviously winning the Super2 Championship with them, racing along with Jason Bright, getting the car up the front at Bathurst was my first ever experience of racing in the Bathurst 1000.

“That was the convincing motivation that I wanted and needed to get me back into racing.”

It’s not just co-driving which has taken an adjustment.

Jacobson has had to rethink his driving style while getting accustomed to Tickford’s Gen3 Ford Mustang, shifting his braking technique to produce a career-first at his Sandown renaissance.

“Going into Sandown I was aware that the Gen3 required a completely different driving style so I completely changed everything I did,” he said.

“I was a left-foot braker, I did that my whole career and had some success with it, but with Gen3 the best way to maximise these cars is the right foot braking.

“So despite not doing any racing in the last 12 months, I’ve probably done more work with my teammate Thomas Randle and more travelling backwards and forwards to Melbourne ever with just working on my driving style with his simulator.

“I showed some good speed at Sandown, I haven’t done as much racing as such but the one-lap pace was good with a lap record there, I’d never done that before so I thought that was a good start for me.”

Jacobson said he’d leaned on Randle’s support since returning to Tickford and would need to eke out all the speed he could in his third Bathurst jaunt.

It will be the Shepparton local’s first as a co-driver at the ‘Great Race’.

He likened the position to being in a poker game, adopting a less risky approach than when he was the main act. He would be hoping to play an ace hand this weekend.

“You can work really hard and try and gain as many positions as you can during a race, but other times the main drivers jump in, they’re going to have a couple of safety cars and it will probably bring all the field back together again,” he said.

“The co-drivers’ role is very, very different to what I’m used to, but Tommy’s got good pace at the moment, he’s in a bit of a purple patch and he’s been qualifying the car in the top five consistently since Tailem Bend and going into Sandown.

“I expect he’ll be just as quick, so I’ll let him do all the risk-taking at the end of the race.”

On Sunday, Jacobson will swell with pride at reaching Supercars’ holy land again.

After splitting from PremiAir Racing last year, pondering a possible lane change into cycling, Jacobson thought hard about what he had achieved throughout his career during his 12 months off the grid.

Working as a diesel mechanic at the family business gave him a sense of grounding and familiarity, but as soon as he had his first test day at Winton he had a “smile from ear to ear”.

“That lifestyle suited me well, I did all the things that I never had time to do,” he said.

“I got married, I’ve got a kid on the way in January with my beautiful wife Naomi, I learned to celebrate all the little things as well.

“But I can’t deny, once you get back at Bathurst, you get that feeling.

“I guess it’s an addiction when you get to race at the biggest race in Australia; it’s a special feeling and you get to really value it because you never know when it might be your last.

“This year is definitely a bonus for me.”

So what’s next for Jacobson after Bathurst?

Though he didn’t trade the steering wheel for handlebars, the Tickford man is not throwing the idea of cycling professionally away entirely.

He spoke to local prodigies, Jack Edwards and Luca Lancaster, about their workload while juggling school with sport, and adopted a rigorous training method, often riding 15 hours a week in between shifts.

“It’s healthy for someone who’s been in competitive sport their whole life to do something after they’ve had a big change in their lifestyle,” he said.

“Getting into cycling and seeing how they operate was really cool for me over the last 12 months.

“I haven’t debuted yet, but I’ll get Bathurst out of the way and then I’ll race something of a different kind late in the year. Maybe we’ll get a crowd of our own coming around there.”

Cycling may be his next venture, but first, he has 161 laps to conquer at Bathurst.

And for that, he has Shepparton to thank.

He’ll suit up for the epic endurance race with local sponsors on his helmet, the same ones he’s sported for six years, and it’s those connections that helped push him back to his rightful spot on the steel steed.

“I wanted to say a big thank you to everyone back home; every time I was driving the bus through the local streets of Mooroopna and Shepparton, everybody was very eager to ask when I was going to get back in the racecar,” he said.

“I didn’t actually know myself when I was going to be doing that, but everybody was so excited when it was announced I was getting back with Tickford.

“A lot of people came out of their way to say they’re just so happy for me to be back racing for me.

“That was good to feel the recognition of people being behind me for all these years.”