It’s been a busy silly season already for the Supercars Championship and there are still four rounds remaining as the Repco Garage covers the announcements as well as rumoured switches.
The most recent reveal as on Sunday when Team 18 confirmed one of the worst kept secrets of the silly season by announcing David Reynolds to replace Scott Pye at the squad for 2024.
“This is just a really exciting time for me,” Reynolds said. “I’ve worked with Bruin [Beasley] and Dennis [Huijser] when we won Bathurst. We get along really well and I respect everything they do.
“On top of that I get to race alongside Frosty [Winterbottom] and people forget that the last season we raced together, Mark and I finished first and third in the Championship back in 2015.
“I can’t thank Charlie [Schwerkolt] enough. I’ve always admired Charlie and how he conducts himself and his team. Funnily enough I’ve always had this feeling that maybe one day I’d race for Charlie, I cannot wait to join him and his team.”
Schwerkolt was delighted to have Reynolds join his team in 2024.
“We are excited to welcome David Reynolds to Team 18 as we gear up for the 2024 Repco Supercars Championship season,” Schwerkolt said.
“David’s track record, both in terms of his accomplishments and his extensive knowledge of the sport is impressive, and he will be a great fit for the culture we have built at Team 18.
“His addition to the team reflects our pursuit of on-track success and our commitment to secure high-class talent to our organisation.
“We look forward to a strong partnership and a bright future together.”
Earlier in the week Richie Stanaway was confirmed as replacing Reynolds at Grove Racing make it an all-New Zealand attack for the Victorian squad as he partners rapid young gun Matt Payne.
On the same day, Walkinshaw Andretti United announced Nick Percat was out at season’s end as it is set to replace the previous Bathurst winner with Super2 hotshot Ryan Wood.
It was reported this morning veteran James Courtney is expected to land at the Blanchard Racing Team to replace Todd Hazelwood as Aaron Love is another Super2 rising star set to make the jump into the main game. Love will make his Repco Supercars Championship debut in a Blanchard Racing Team Wildcard during the endurance races.
This is all depend on the Blanchard Racing Team being awarded another Teams Racing Charter as its believed Tickford Racing will cut down to two entries for 2024 leaving 24 entries on the grid. The squad’s fourth driver rookie Declan Fraser is also on the search for a seat.
Although Courtney was hotly favoured for the vacant seat at Matt Stone Racing after Jack Le Brocq confirmed his departure to replace Will Brown at Erebus Motorsport. It appears Nick Percat and Scott Pye will be the next in contention if the veteran’s move to the Blanchard Racing Team comes to fruition.
Of course, Shane van Gisbergen ended his contract early at Triple Eight Race Engineering to pursue a career in NASCAR started the silly season. The triple-championship winning New Zealand will be replaced by Brown.
Brad Jones Racing is set to continue with its driver line-up into 2024 as is Dick Johnson Racing.