Tim Blanchard will return to the Supercars grid courtesy of a wildcard outing at the Pirtek Perth SuperNight next month. 

After announcing his retirement from full-time Supercars racing last season Blanchard will now pilot a one-off ZB Commodore entry in the inaugural Supercars night race at Barbagallo Wanneroo Raceway.

The car is the same chassis piloted by Jack Smith during a wildcard outing at Symmons Plains earlier this month, with the entry tipped to carry backing from Malaysian oil giant Petronas, according to report on Fox Sports’ Supercars Trackside.

Blanchard has moved into a team manager role this year having stepped out of the Team Cooldrive seat, which has been filled by Macauley Jones.

He is however expected to contest this year’s Pirtek Enduro Cup alongside Nick Percat in the #8 Brad Jones Racing Holden.

Next month’s wildcard outing will add to his miles behind the wheel in preparation for the endurance season.  

“I am looking forward to stepping back into the Supercar series in Perth. The night race was heaps of fun last year, so I expect it to be just as big this year,” said Blanchard.

“Stepping down from full-time racing last year was a big decision for me, but I still enjoy racing at this level, so I was always keen to stay involved in a driving capacity; through the Pirtek Endurance Cup or any other opportunities that arose like this.

“Our expectations for the weekend are realistic; we have put a great crew together which is a mix of new and old crew from the workshop, so I am confident we’ll have a successful weekend. It’ll be a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel!

“Supercar fans will be expecting me back in Team CoolDrive colours, but we’ve been working behind the scenes and will be revealing something totally different for the Perth SuperNight event. Watch this space.”

The Perth wildcard follows a now abandoned plan to enter Garth Tander as a wildcard in a Triple Eight car at the Western Australia venue.