The co-driver market continues to heat up as big names Nick Percat and James Courtney are snapped up for the 2026 Ryco Enduro Cup.
Percat announced his full-time Supercars retirement prior to the Repco Bathurst 1000 and has since secured a co-drive alongside Broc Feeney at Red Bull Ampol Racing.
In the same announcement, Scott Pye will continue to partner 2024 Repco Supercars Championship winner Will Brown.
Confirmation of Percat in turn replaces Triple Eight Race Engineering team principal Jamie Whincup, but the seven-time champion has not closed the door on a return in the future.
“What a journey it’s been. Since starting my Triple Eight Race Engineering ownership back in 2018, I have always said I will continue to drive the car as long as the management team and I feel like I’m the best person for the job,” Whincup said.
“In 2021 it was clear that Broc Feeney was ready to debut in Supercars and needed a break to get in. This allowed me to move into the team’s managing director role which I’m continuing to love while striving to improve and be the best I can be there.
“Now the opportunity has come up where a leading main game driver in Nick Percat has decided to pursue a co-driver role and we are thrilled he chose this team to do it with.
“I’ve absolutely loved my time with Broc and the #88 crew, there were people keen for me to continue on but I’ve made the call that Nick is our best chance for success to team up with Broc for next season.
“I truly feel the driver line up we’ll have in 2026 will compliment the rest of our superstar crew to give us the best chance to showcase what we do best.”
Percat announced his retirement despite having a contract at Matt Stone Racing, but joins Triple Eight as an immediate contender with Feeney.
“I am extremely excited to be driving at Triple Eight and to be honest it was the only team I wanted to be with,” said Percat.
“Putting myself with the best possible team on and off the track with the calibre of staff and drivers at Triple Eight was the priority for me.
“To be co-driving with Broc is very cool, to be with someone with such raw speed but also the dedication to go with it has me seriously excited. We’ve driven together before and also get along really well off track and out of the garage.
“I’ve also known Broc’s race engineer Marty [Short] since my early racing days so it was a perfect fit.
“To be stepping into the seat Jamie was in is a bit of an honour. Jamie was the guy we all tried to beat for so long and his ability inside the car is seriously incredible. I was fortunate enough to have a few battles with him over the years but more often than not he was schooling all of us!
“I’m excited to work closely with him and see how he goes about it all both as managing director but in the garage and in pit lane as well. Although he’s not in the #88 I’m sure there is still plenty he can teach me.
“Having a literal racer as your boss is pretty unique but a very big asset for us, the drivers.”
Meanwhile, GM partner squad Team 18 has announced James Courtney as part of its co-driver roster for 2026 alongside Lee Holdsworth.
Courtney already has a relationship with owner Charlie Schwerkolt and team principal Adrian Burgess from his title winning season at Dick Johnson Racing.
“I’m pretty excited to be working with Adrian [Burgess] again. I’ve had a huge amount of success with him, we first met and worked together in the 2000s in Europe, so to be back working with him is really special. We’ve been together on and off at HRT, at DJR, and back in Europe. Not only do I respect him for all his achievements, but he’s also a good mate.
“I’m super excited to be working with him, and then also with Charlie, given our history together winning the championship. Charlie’s been a boss before, but also a really good mate for a long time.
“What they’ve done with the growth at Team 18 is fantastic, and now being the homologation team for General Motors is also very inviting for me,” said Courtney.
“I started my Supercars career as an endurance driver for the GM factory team, so it’s quite fitting that I’ll finish my career doing the same.
“To be honest, as soon as I announced I wasn’t going to be driving full-time anymore, Charlie called me straight away. That eagerness showed that he really wanted it, and that the team wanted me to be part of it all. It was a pretty cool feeling to still be wanted after twenty-odd years. It’s been really nice.
“Nothing really felt different until probably the Gold Coast when we did that Sunday presentation before the race. That’s when it struck home that this is all coming to an end. The last couple of rounds will probably get more emotional. It’s been twenty years doing this full-time, from 2006 to 2025, a long period of time. I should have quite a bit of long-service leave! To change direction after that is a big shift. I talked a big game initially, saying I’d just mic-drop it and disappear, but realistically, there’s no way I could do that. I love what I do too much. To have done something your whole life and then stop cold turkey, it probably would’ve killed me.
“I’m really excited to work with Lee again. We were together at HRT when he was in the other car Charlie owned at the time, and we started around the same era, so it’ll be great to team up again. Davey’s been around a long time too, he’s a bit of a joker and we’re both pretty light-hearted and easygoing, so that’ll be fun. Anton’s super quick and continuing to make his mark in the sport. I think it’s going to be a good mix, a lot of experience on my side and plenty I can bring to help those boys as well.”
Courtney joins from the Blanchard Racing Team.