Garry Rogers Motorsport has retained the services of Chris Pither and Richard Muscat for this year’s Pirtek Enduro Cup.
The duo will rejoin the Melbourne squad for the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, Vodafone Gold Coast 600, and Penrite Oil Sandown 500 following a strong showing in the GRM ZB Commodores during last year’s enduros.
Boost Mobile Racing will operate with an unchanged enduro line-up from last year, with both drivers set to jump behind the wheel during Saturday morning’s Additional Driver session at the Truck Assist Winton SuperSprint.
Pither is expected to team up with Richie Stanaway in the #33 entry he shared with Garth Tander last season, forming an all Kiwi partnership.
The reigning Super2 series winner will contest the enduros alongside a TCR Australia tilt, driving one of GRM’s Renault Meganes.
Last year, Pither combined with Tander to finish the three enduro races inside the top 10, recording an impressive sixth at Bathurst.
Meanwhile, James Golding in the sister #34 Boost Mobile Racing entry will continue his partnership with Muscat.
The pair finished 13th in the Pirtek Enduro Cup standings which included Golding’s best Supercars Championship race result as a primary/full-time driver of eighth at Mount Panorama.
Muscat, a former GRM Super2 driver and Australian GT champion, has been racing in Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia this season after finishing fifth in the one make series last year.
Team director Barry Rogers believes it is important to have continuity in its line-up for the enduros.
“From a GRM perspective it is important to have some continuity with our driver line-up,” Rogers told Speedcafe.com.
“Chris Pither and Richard Muscat have been a part of what we have done for several years and they both did very good jobs last year in the enduros.
“When you are chopping and changing each time you seem to go back to square one.”
Pither and Muscat will receive their first official Supercars outings this year in Saturday’s Additional Driver session scheduled for 0920 AEST.
Entry list: Pirtek Enduro Cup Provisional
Num | Team | Primary driver | Co-driver | Car |
2 | Mobil 1 Mega Racing (WAU) | Scott Pye | Warren Luff | Holden ZB Commodore |
22 | Mobil 1 Mega Racing (WAU) | James Courtney | Jack Perkins | Holden ZB Commodore |
3 | Rabble.Club Racing (Kelly) | Garry Jacobson | TBA (Dean Fiore)* | Nissan Altima L33 |
7 | Plus Fitness Racing (Kelly) | Andre Heimgartner | Bryce Fullwood | Nissan Altima L33 |
15 | Castrol Racing (Kelly) | Rick Kelly | Dale Wood | Nissan Altima L33 |
78 | Team Harvey Norman (Kelly) | Simona De Silvestro | TBA (Alex Rullo)* | Nissan Altima L33 |
5 | The Bottle-O Racing (Tickford) | Lee Holdsworth | TBA (Thomas Randle)* | Ford Mustang |
6 | Monster Energy Racing (Tickford) | Cameron Waters | Michael Caruso | Ford Mustang |
23 | Milwaukee Racing (Tickford/23Red) | Will Davison | Alex Davison | Ford Mustang |
55 | Supercheap Auto Racing (Tickford) | Chaz Mostert | James Moffat | Ford Mustang |
8 | Brad Jones Racing | Nick Percat | TBA (Tim Blanchard)* | Holden ZB Commodore |
14 | Freightliner Racing (BJR) | Tim Slade | TBA (Ash Walsh)* | Holden ZB Commodore |
21 | Team CoolDrive (BJR/TBR) | Macauley Jones | TBA | Holden ZB Commodore |
9 | Penrite Racing (Erebus) | David Reynolds | Luke Youlden | Holden ZB Commodore |
99 | Penrite Racing (Erebus) | Anton De Pasquale | Will Brown | Holden ZB Commodore |
12 | Shell V-Power Racing Team (DJRTP) | Fabian Coulthard | Tony D’Alberto | Ford Mustang |
17 | Shell V-Power Racing Team (DJRTP) | Scott McLaughlin | Alexandre Premat | Ford Mustang |
18 | Irwin Racing (Team 18) | Mark Winterbottom | Steven Richards | Holden ZB Commodore |
19 | Truck Assist Tekno Racing | Jack Le Brocq | TBA | Holden ZB Commodore |
33 | Boost Mobile Racing (GRM) | Richie Stanaway | Chris Pither | Holden ZB Commodore |
34 | Boost Mobile Racing (GRM) | James Golding | Richard Muscat | Holden ZB Commodore |
35 | Matt Stone Racing | Todd Hazelwood | TBA | Holden ZB Commodore |
97 | Red Bull Holden Racing Team (Triple Eight) | Shane van Gisbergen | Garth Tander | Holden ZB Commodore |
888 | Red Bull Holden Racing Team (Triple Eight) | Jamie Whincup | Craig Lowndes | Holden ZB Commodore |
* Tipped to secure the drive