Pither still waiting on BJR endurance seat

Chris Pither will again be behind the wheel of Brad Jones Racing’s #21 Holden during co-driver practice today, despite not yet having a deal for the endurance races.

The seat alongside David Wall remains vacant following the tragic death of popular Dane Allan Simonsen in last month’s Le Mans 24 Hours.

Pither currently competes for BJR in the Dunlop Series and co-drove alongside Wall at Sandown and Bathurst in 2012.

Although the 26-year-old New Zealander is expected to end up with the drive, the final decision is understood to remain with the car’s primary sponsor, Wilson Security.

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“If we can manage to lock it in it’d be great, but for the moment I’m just taking it as it comes, doing what the guys need done in the first half hour of Practice 1 and enjoying it,” Pither told Speedcafe.com at Queensland Raceway on Thursday.

Pither has endured a tough run in the Dunlop Series so far this season, sitting 24th in points after three rounds with the Commodore that Fabian Coulthard drove in the 2012 V8 Supercars Championship.

“We’ve struggled to make the most of the green tyres which has really hurt us in qualifying, but the car seems to come on in longer runs and be quite competitive,” he said.

“We’ve had a test day since Townsville and made some good gains. If I can qualify ideally in the top 10 this weekend I think we can build a solid round from there.”

The V8 Supercars Championship will debut a new practice format today, with two 75 minute sessions separated by a 15 minute break.

Co-drivers will be the only drivers permitted in the first 30 minutes of Practice 1, while both co-drivers and primary drivers will be eligible for the remainder of the day.

The #21 Brad Jones Racing, #66 Walkinshaw Racing and #88 Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport Holdens are the only three cars left without confirmed co-drivers following the announcement of Jonny Reid alongside Tony D’Alberto on Thursday.

Ingall’s car will be without a co-driver today, while LDM’s session plan is yet to be confirmed, with evaluation laps for Dunlop Series front-runner Kristian Lindbom thought to be under consideration.

Kiwi Matthew Halliday, who is this weekend racing in the 24 Hours of Spa as part of his Blancpain Endurance Series commitments with WRT Audi, is likely to join Fiore for the Endurance Cup.