The partnership has been confirmed alongside an announcement that Snowy River Caravans will move with James Courtney to Team 18 as major sponsor of car #20.
It’s a deal cooked up by the commercially savvy Courtney that – combined with his soon-to-be announced role on the Supercars TV broadcasts – will ensure he remains one of the sport’s top earners.
Although Courtney teased a potential “cold turkey” retirement from driving during his final full-time season, the multi-faceted Team 18 switch was locked in long ago.
Snowy River takes over from Tradie as the main sponsor on the car, although the latter retains prominent positions on the front quarters.
“2026 is a whole new challenge for me,” said Courtney, 45.
“Going from being a full-time driver to now being Davey’s sidekick is a completely different dynamic to get my head around.
Click here to talk to the team.
“Dave and I have known each other for a long time, and there’s a huge amount of experience between the two of us. He’s a Bathurst winner and now the oldest full-time driver in the field – sucked in, Davey!
“Bathurst is the one race that’s eluded me my whole career, so to be able to tackle it with someone as talented and experienced as Dave is fantastic.
“That experience really counts in the enduros, and I think we’ve got a very strong pairing.”
Reynolds, 40, is not only now the oldest full-time driver, but with a remarkable seven year gap back to next-oldest Chaz Mostert.
After a drawn out process that eventually resulted in being retained for 2026, the veteran knows he’ll need results if he’s to extend his career beyond this season.
“I’m the oldest guy on the grid now, which sounds strange at only 40, but I actually see it as a positive,” said Reynolds.
“There’s a lot of young drivers and rookies coming through, which is great for the category, but experience still counts for a lot in Supercars, and I feel like I’m in a good position to use that to our advantage.”
Team 18 meanwhile confirmed its technical director Geoff Slater will engineer the #20 entry this year, taking over from Richard Hollway – who remains with the team.
“Having Geoff step into the race engineer role is something I’m really looking forward to. He’s incredibly experienced, highly credentialed and knows the team inside out,” said Reynolds.
The arrival of Courtney and Snowy River has meant Lee Holdsworth, who co-drove to second in the Bathurst 1000 with Reynolds last year, has been moved to Anton De Pasquale’s car.
“Holdsworth did an awesome job for us last year, but I’m really looking forward to sharing the car with James,” added Reynolds.
“He’s the same size as me, hopefully drives the car in a similar way, and he’s just a great character to have around. He brings another level to the team, and I honestly can’t wait to get started.”
Discussion about this post