Changing of the guard as Enduro Cup grid fills

A host of experienced V8 Supercars co-drivers appear set to remain on the sidelines for this year’s Pirtek Enduro Cup.

The full line-up for the three endurance races is almost complete following recent confirmations at Charlie Schwerkolt Racing and Erebus Motorsport.

As previously reported, Schwerkolt has opted for Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais while Erebus has called up 22-year-old Dunlop Series driver Jack Le Brocq.

The Enduro Cup silly season has to date been most notable for the number of experienced campaigners without seats.

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Heading that list are Holden legends Greg Murphy and Russell Ingall, both of whom elected to forgo drives in favour of television roles.

The duo has a combined total six Bathurst wins and 45 starts between them having both run in every event since 1994.

Other mainstays that also appear destined to be missing in action include Craig Baird, Steven Johnson, Paul Morris and Greg Ritter.

Baird has amassed 20 starts since his debut in 1990 but has given up hope of a return this year after being replaced by Le Brocq.

Johnson’s unbroken run of Bathurst starts also stretches back to 1994, while defending race winner Morris has made 22 starts since 1991 and Ritter 16 consecutive since 1999.

Morris has been effectively replaced in Prodrive’s Pepsi Max Crew effort by 20-year-old Cameron Waters, although the team is yet to confirm pairings for its three cars.

Ritter’s seat at GRM is meanwhile expected to go to Chris Pither, whose previous BJR slot is slated for another 20-year-old in Macauley Jones.

Baird says that losing his place at Erebus, which he had held since the team’s previous Stone Brothers Racing guise, was a matter of economics.

“They said they didn’t have a budget to pay a driver and as much as I like driving that’s what I do for a living, so it wasn’t something that I was thinking about doing for nothing,” he told Speedcafe.com.

The 44-year-old New Zealander says that the position he and Johnson have found themselves in is a reflection of the current overall state of the category.

“If you look through V8 Supercars you only need to look through how many (primary drivers) are bringing money to be on the grid and the enduro drives are now getting similar,” he said.

“There are a lot of guys out there either willing to do it for nothing or willing to bring sponsorship to the team.

“Someone like Stevie J (Johnson) is as good as anyone when it comes to co-drivers but he’s another left sitting on the sidelines.

“I don’t think the requirements have changed, but the circumstances have,” he added.

“If I was a main driver, I’d want a guy that would come in, know the circuits, be fast with minimal laps and know how to stay out of trouble.

“Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of young guys there that can do a good job, but with the tyre restrictions and limited (testing) miles, it’s tough for them.”

Although many teams have not officially announced their line-ups, single seats at Nissan Motorsport and Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport are thought to be the only ones left in play.

See below for the likely line-up for the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, excluding any wildcards. Note: This is not a confirmed entry list.

No.	Entry	Driver	Co-Driver	Car
#1	Triple Eight Race Engineering	Jamie Whincup	Paul Dumbrell	Holden Commodore VF
#2	Holden Racing Team	Garth Tander	Warren Luff	Holden Commodore VF
#3	Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport	Tim Blanchard	TBA	Holden Commodore VF
#4	Erebus Motorsport	Ashley Walsh	Jack Le Brocq	Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG W212
#5	Prodrive Racing Australia	Mark Winterbottom	Steve Owen*	Ford Falcon FG X
#6	Prodrive Racing Australia	Chaz Mostert	Cameron Waters*	Ford Falcon FG X
#7	Nissan Motorsport	Todd Kelly	TBA	Nissan Altima L33
#8	Brad Jones Racing	Jason Bright	Andrew Jones	Holden Commodore VF
#9	Erebus Motorsport	Will Davison	Alex Davison	Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG W212
#10	Nissan Motorsport	Michael Caruso	Dean Fiore*	Nissan Altima L33
#14	Brad Jones Racing	Fabian Coulthard	Luke Youlden	Holden Commodore VF
#15	Nissan Motorsport	Rick Kelly	David Russell*	Nissan Altima L33
#17	DJR Team Penske	Scott Pye	Marcos Ambrose	Ford Falcon FG X
#18	Charlie Schwerkolt Racing	Lee Holdsworth	Sebastien Bourdais	Holden Commodore VF
#21	Brad Jones Racing	Dale Wood	Macauley Jones*	Holden Commodore VF
#22	Holden Racing Team	James Courtney	Jack Perkins	Holden Commodore VF
#33	Volvo Polestar Racing	Scott McLaughlin	Alexandre Premat	Volvo S60
#34	Volvo Polestar Racing	David Wall	Chris Pither*	Volvo S60
#47	Walkinshaw Racing	Tim Slade	Tony D’Alberto	Holden Commodore VF
#55	Rod Nash Racing	David Reynolds	Dean Canto*	Ford Falcon FG X
#97	Tekno Autosports	Shane van Gisbergen	Jonathon Webb	Holden Commodore VF
#99	Nissan Motorsport	James Moffat	Taz Douglas*	Nissan Altima L33
#111	Super Black Racing	Andre Heimgartner	Ant Pedersen	Ford Falcon FG X
#222	Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport	Nick Percat	Oliver Gavin	Holden Commodore VF
#888	Triple Eight Race Engineering	Craig Lowndes	Steven Richards	Holden Commodore VF

*driver yet to be confirmed or pairing subject to change