Premat receives border exemption to contest Bathurst 1000
Tickford Racing has secured the required exemption to get Alex Premat into Australia for the Bathurst 1000 later this year.
The US-based Frenchman is part of Tickford's extended driver line-up for the second year running, however last year he didn't end up making the trip down under due to Australia's travel restrictions.
While the Aussie borders are still closed, with tighter caps than ever on new arrivals due to constant leaks in the hotel quarantine system, Tickford has this year ensured Premat's passage down under by clearing the administrative hurdles nice and early.
According to Tickford CEO Tim Edwards the team has already secured the required visa and entry exemption for the 2019 Bathurst 1000 winner, who will have to serve the mandatory 14 days in managed isolation upon arrival.
There is, however, a question mark over when he'll travel to Australia, with the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in New South Wales leaving lingering doubts over the viability of an early November Bathurst 1000.
"We've sorted out his visa and his exemption, that's all addressed," Edwards told Autosport.
"The exemption is the hard part, which we've got given he's a professional sportsman. Much like tennis players and other sportspeople that have got into the country. He'll do his quarantine, etcetera.
"Now we're sort of playing the waiting game. We're in a bit of a holding pattern at the moment trying to understand if there's going to be any changes.
"What we've done is got the exemption and the visa, and now we sit and wait."
Alex Premat
Photo by: Tickford
As well as the two-week quarantine, it is likely that Tickford would want Premat in the country in time to complete at least one day of testing before heading to Mount Panorama.
He has only sampled Tickford hardware once, at the 2020 pre-season test at The Bend, and hasn't raced a Supercar since winning the Bathurst 1000 with Scott McLaughlin in October 2019.
Premat is, however, renowned for hitting the ground running during his sporadic visits down under, despite the unique driving style required by a Supercar.
How the six Tickford drivers will line up for the Bathurst 1000 is yet to be formalised by the famous Ford squad.
There have been numerous theories regarding the precise pairings, the latest placing Premat in the #5 Mustang.
That would suggest James Moffat would partner Cam Waters in the #6, while Thomas Randle has long been linked to the #44 with James Courtney.
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