Geoff Emery will make his racing return at the opening round of the 2017 CAMS Australian GT Championship in Adelaide (March 2-5).
Emery will steer the #74 Jamec Pem Audi R8 LMS, rejoining the team with which he competed the opening three events of 2016.
The Victorian watched the second half of the 2016 season from the sidelines following a crash during the third round of the championship at Barbagallo, and is excited to get back on track after a nearly 10-month break.
“This is the longest stint I’ve had out of a car in probably 20 years,” Emery said.
“It’s been pretty frustrating watching all the racing going and have just been focused on my rehab.
“I’ve been doing a lot of personal training sessions, Pilates and pushbike riding five or six days a week. It’s been a hard road.”
Sharing the car last year with Christopher Mies and Marco Bonanomi, Emery recorded three successive pole positions to become just the fourth driver in the category’s history to do so.
“I had so much momentum going last year until my accident,” Emery recalled.
“We had good pace in the first three rounds and it’s such a shame that it came to an abrupt end like that. I’m looking forward to getting back on and carrying on with that.
“I’m not going back to putt around, I’m going back to get serious about it and have a fairly good crack.
“The Audi’s such a great car to drive, it’s a competitive car, and the Melbourne Performance Centre crew is one of the best in pit lane – it’s an honour to be back with them.
“I believe with the right team-mate we can get some really good results.”
A test session for the Jamec Pem team next week will see Emery sample the car before heading to Adelaide for the opening round of the 2017 CAMS Australian GT Championship at the Clipsal 500 (March 2-5).
Emery is also set to remain in the car for the CAMS Australian Endurance Championship, with the first of its four round season beginning at Phillip Island in May (26-28).
