Grove Racing’s David Reynolds has confirmed his spot on the grid for the Fanatec GT World Challenge Powered by AWS season-opener at Phillip Island.

The 2017 Bathurst 1000 winner will join Tony Bates this weekend in the latter’s Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, which will carry C-Tech Laser backing.

It will be the first time the pair have raced together since 2016, having joined forces for a Pro-Am endurance race in Porsche Carrera Cup Australia.

Reynolds is no stranger to GT racing, having made six Bathurst 12 Hour starts – five of which were in Mercedes-Benz machinery.

However, the Supercars regular said he’s keen on more GT starts.

“I’ve raced GT cars occasionally, but I want to spend more time in them,” said Reynolds.

“I’ve done a few races in a Mercedes-AMG GT3, which I really enjoyed, but the Audi is mid-engined, so I’m expecting it to feel different and will need to adapt my driving style accordingly.

“It’s been ages since Tony and I have driven together, and I love working with him and helping bring out the best in his driving.

“Last time we shared a car, he went on to win the Carrera Cup Pro-Am championship, so hopefully I’m a good luck charm for him.”

It marks a return to racing for Bates, who hasn’t competed since May last year due largely to the COVID-19 pandemic and business commitments.

As it stands, Bates is only locked in for Round 1, which will see him race his Audi for the first time in its recently upgraded Evo II trim.

The second evolution of the Evo features upgrades to the aerodynamics, engine characteristics, air conditioning, suspension, and traction control.

“The last couple of seasons have had all sorts of disruptions with COVID and business commitments, so I’m really looking forward to being able to direct my entire focus to the race track,” said Bates.

“I’ve committed to doing the first GT World Challenge round this weekend, and then I will assess my racing programme for the remainder of 2022.

“We tested at Phillip Island a couple of weeks ago and I felt comfortable in the car straight away.

“We recently installed the Evo II upgrade package on my Audi and straight away I noticed an improvement with stability through the high-speed corners.

“Dave and I are great mates – as well as being an accomplished driver, he’s a lot of fun away from the race track,” he said of Reynolds.

“It will be very entertaining having him in the garage, so it’s bound to be an enjoyable weekend.”

GT World Challenge Australia will take in two practice sessions and two qualifying sessions on Friday.

Race 1 and Race 2 across Saturday and Sunday both get underway at 13:45 local time/AEDT and will last 60 minutes.

Coverage of the Shannons Motorsports Australia Championships event will be shown live and ad-free exclusively on Stan Sport.