2011 V8 enduro seats close to final

The V8 Supercars endurance line-ups are close to being finalised, with the remaining slots filled or close to confirmation.

With most seats taken for the two-driver races at Phillip Island and Bathurst, the hot remaining ticket is at Garry Rogers Motorsport, and it appears to be a face-off between Marcus Marshall and Shane Price.

Marshall has been linked to the Fujitsu-backed team in the past weeks, while Shane Price has come on to the market after Tony D’Alberto Racing turned down its option on his services.

Price said that he would relish the opportunity to drive with GRM if there’s a position available for him.

“I’d love to get the GRM drive, but any drive in the enduros be great at this point,” said Price.

“The D’Alberto’s made it clear earlier that they wanted me in the seat but hadn’t committed, and it seems they have other plans now and all the other seats are pretty much gone. That was a massive shame, so I hope I end up with something.“

In other endurance race news, Kelly Raing appears to have sorted its line-up, with Allan Simonsen, Owen Kelly, Tim Blanchard and David Russell set to join the four-car squad. A team spokesperson would not comment on the Braeside-based organisation’s endurance line-up past confirming Owen Kelly’s return.

Kelly Racing tested Blanchard and Russell at Winton recently and impressed enough to secure a ride. Simonsen is a V8 enduro expert, finishing sixth with Greg Murphy at Bathurst last year.

Also, Dean Fiore is set to lock in Michael Patrizi later this week.

Fiore said that the with the busy schedule of the past few weeks, it has been impossible to make Patrizi official.

“We’ve got that much going on with the lead up to Clipsal, through Clipsal and with the Grand Prix now, there’s been lots going on,” he said.

“It’s more of a formality than anything else, but we’ll probably announce something next week and formalise everything then.”

See below for an unoffical list of teams and drivers for this year’s endurance races.

Walkinshaw Racing
James Courtney
Garth Tander
Fabian Coulthard
Cameron McConville
Nick Percat
Craig Baird

Tony D’Alberto Racing
Tony D’Alberto
–

Stone Brothers Racing
Alex Davison
Shane van Gisbergen
Tim Slade
David Brabham
John McIntyre
Daniel Gaunt

Ford Performance Racing
Mark Winterbottom
Will Davison
Paul Dumbrell
Steven Richards
Luke Youlden
Dean Canto

Kelly Racing
Todd Kelly
Greg Murphy
Rick Kelly
David Reynolds
Owen Kelly
David Russell
Allan Simonsen
Tim Blanchard

Brad Jones Racing
Jason Bright
Jason Bargwanna
Karl Reindler
Jason Richards
Andrew Jones
David Wall

Triple F Racing
Dean Fiore
Michael Patrizi

Dick Johnson Racing
Steven Johnson
James Moffat
David Besnard
Matt Halliday

Tekno Autosport
Jonathon Webb
Richard Lyons

Lucas Dumbrel Motorsport
Warren Luff
Nathan Pretty

Garry Rogers Motorsport
Lee Holdsworth
Michael Caruso
Greg Ritter
–

Paul Morris Motorsport
Russell Ingall
Steve Owen
Jack Perkins
Paul Morris

Triple Eight Race Engineering
Jamie Whincup
Craig Lowndes
Andrew Thompson
Mark Skaife