After the Queensland squads hit the track on Monday, it was the Victorian teams turn on Wednesday as the Repco Supercars Championship season officially began at Winton Motor Raceway.
There were no major dramas during the day, however a flurry of announcements in terms of endurance pairings for the 2024 season.
Albury-based Brad Jones Racing announced three of its drivers headlined by the addition of ex-Tickford Racing full-timer Declan Fraser to partner Andre Heimgartner in the R&J Batteries Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
Another new recruit in the form of Jay Robotham will join Bryce Fullwood in the Middy’s Racing entry after competing alongside Cameron Hill at Matt Stone Racing for his maiden campaign last season.
Jordan Boys will continue to pair with Macauley Jones in the Pizza Hut Camaro leaving the spot alongside Jaxon Evans in the SCT Racing Chevrolet vacant at this stage.
Walkinshaw Andretti United confirmed its experienced co-driver roster of Fabian Coulthard and Lee Holdsworth will remain unchanged for 2024, as rookie Ryan Wood undertook his first test behind the wheel of his Ford Mustang.
Erebus Motorsport dusted off its plain Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 following a remarkable off-season as its two new drivers, Todd Hazelwood and Jack Le Brocq got used to their new surrounds. Despite new faces in the driver’s sets, the remaining workforce is the same having won both the Drivers’ and Teams’ titles last year. Endurance drivers David Russell and new recruit Jayden Ojeda were also in attendance.
Launching on the weekend was Penrite Racing as the most recent Supercars race winner Matt Payne and the returning Richie Stanaway make up an all-New Zealand attack for the Braeside-based squad. Reigning Bathurst winner Stanaway is eager to impress on his second chance at a Supercars full-time seat, while Payne has already demonstrated he will be a young star of the future given his performances during his rookie season.
David Reynolds got behind the wheel of his Team 18 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the first time yesterday following the launch of the livery in TRADIE Beer colours at the start of the week. Teammate Mark Winterbottom did likewise with an inverted design for his DEWALT-supported entry.
Tickford Racing tested in plain black liveries having not launched yet as Cam Waters and Thomas Randle were joined by Tyler Everingham on the day. Co-team owner Rod Nash believes parity will be not a concern for this season following the aerodynamic and dyno testing undertaken during the off-season, plus an improved Ford engine package running under Dick Johnson Racing.
Blanchard Racing Team also entered the track for the first time officially as a two-car operation as rookie Aaron Love will partner veteran James Courtney. Launching its liveries at the end of last week, the Blanchard Racing Team has also changed its structure as Matt Nilsson takes on the team manager role and the engineering department welcomes a few additions from Tickford.
The opening round of the Repco Supercars Championship is at Mount Panorama, Bathurst on February 23-25.