It has been a long and lonely winter away from the driver’s seat for Mount Gambier’s Jobe Stewart, but he will be doing what he does best once again next Wednesday.

Stewart is one of three drivers picked to lead Erebus Motorsport’s assault for the Cash Converters Supercars Eseries.

The Limestone Coast teenager joins pro-gamer Jarrad Filsell and current Supercars star Brodie Kostecki in the three-car stable competing across the six-round Eseries, which will be broadcast nationally on Fox Sports, Kayo and Channel 7.

For the first time the Eseries will feature a hybrid format with the main game stars competing in the Repco Supercars Championship such as Shane van Gisbergen, Jamie Whincup and Cam Waters fighting in the All Stars segment, while Stewart forms part of the Pro Series alongside elite gamers and young drivers.

Having not had the chance to race his Toyota 86 machine since the Repco Bathurst 500 in February and forced to watch his competitors race around the streets of Townsville, Stewart is keen to go racing again, even if he must settle for the virtual world of iRacing.

“It was obviously very annoying watching cars go around, but it just fuels the fire,” he said.

“I have been doing a little bit of sim racing, so I am looking forward to racing against some pretty big names in the sim racing and real world.”

To keep his driving skills up to scratch, Stewart has been cutting his teeth at number of sim racing events including the V8SCOPS Premier Series – one of the strongest touring car championships in iRacing.

After nine events, the Mount Gambier youngster sits eighth in the championship with a series of consistent drives headlined by three top-10 finishes.

Stewart said gaining experience in his simulator at home against many drivers he will take on in the Supercars series has put him in a good place for the road ahead.

“It is definitely one of the highest V8Supercar championships on iRacing in Australia, so it is a good training ground,” he said.

“There have been races every two to three weeks and the guys at the front end of the V8SCOPS Premier Series will be fighting in the Eseries as well.

“I have tried to work my way up and put in some good performances.

“Since the Eseries has been announced I have put some more laps in and we have another race coming up this weekend.”

Despite being one of the most inexperienced drivers on the grid boasting some of the best drivers and gamers in the country, Stewart is confident he has what it takes to make an impression.

Last year he was the youngest in the competitive 26-car field fighting in the inaugural Pro Eseries and did his reputation no harm by finishing 17th in the championship.

Stewart was not afraid to race door to door virtually with Supercars legend Shane van Gisbergen when he secured a stunning podium finish at Michigan International Speedway after starting 19th on the grid.

He could have even claimed the win, but could not hold off a charging van Gisbergen and future team mate Fillsell in the Red Bull entries.

The race was the high point of the season with a total of five top-10 finishes.

Stewart said lessons learnt from the debut campaign put him in a good position to go even harder in 2021.

“Last year was sort of a building year, learning the ropes of a few things,” he said.

“Having done a lot more racing laps, I hope to be fighting around the top 10 at least.”

Stewart was the only driver representing Erebus in the 2020 Eseries aside from Kostecki’s wildcard appearance.

Having not only the driver of the number 99 Erebus Supercar, but Fillsell under the same virtual roof, the teenager can unlock many more secrets as the trio work as a team and share data throughout the season.

Stewart must form a close bond with his team mates when for the first time in Supercars Eseries history, a virtual enduro will take place around the famous Mount Panorama circuit.

The Mount Gambier sensation will either pair with Kostecki or current Dunlop Super2 Erebus driver Jaylyn Robotham.

The online championship virtually travels to some of the most revered tracks in the world including next week’s season opener at Austria’s famous and fast Red Bull Ring.

Stewart will be sporting the various Erebus liveries showcased by Will Brown in the 2021 Repco Supercars Championship and will likely have WD40 colours on for round 1.

With one round arriving every Wednesday night for the next six weeks, Stewart said he would be spending plenty of time in the simulator to get the best result possible.

“With more experience now, I am really going to try and knuckle down and focus on results,” he said.