Slater was most recently Director of Engineering at PremiAir Racing, from which he chose to step away to pursue new opportunities, amid its signing of Ludo Lacroix.

His arrival is but one of several at Team 18, where former Supercars Head of Motorsport Adrian Burgess made his official start as Team Principal last week.

The Charlie Schwerkolt-owned squad has now announced not only Slater, who has started immediately, but also Som Sharma as Mark Winterbottom’s new Race Engineer.

Richard Hollway remains Race Engineer for the #20 Camaro, but that will be driven now by David Reynolds, who takes over the T18-001 chassis piloted by Scott Pye in 2023.

The changes in the engineering department follow upheaval in Team 18 after a bungled fuel call saw Winterbottom fail to finish last year’s Bathurst 1000.

His Race Engineer Manuel Sanchez and Data Engineer Julia McGarry both left the squad in the weeks following, as did Team Manager Bruin Beasley in what was referred to as a “separate development.”

Slater has won the Bathurst 1000 and Bathurst 12 Hour as an engineer for Tekno Autosports, both in 2016, before a stint in the United States during which he masterminded victory in the 24 Hours of Daytona and Michelin Endurance Cup with the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing squad which runs BMW’s factory IMSA programme.

“I’m honoured to join Team 18 and contribute to the development of their engineering group,” he said.

“We have two drivers who are extremely strong with their feedback and experience in developing cars, alongside a talented engineering group with the likes of Richard Hollway and a skilled group around him, I’m excited to get to work and push this team to greater heights.”

New #18 Race Engineer Sharma has held technical positions within the Supercars Championship since 2014, including the role of Regulations and Systems Engineer for the Gen3 project.

He has also had stints overseas, in Europe, including work for Leomax Engineering GmbH, and representing the FIA and DMSB in technical and scrutinising capacities with the full DTM Championship and selected Formula 2 and Formula 3 events.

His Team 18 appointment is Sharma’s first as a Race Engineer in Supercars.

“I’m thrilled to reveal our revamped engineering lineup for the 2024 Repco Supercars Championship solidified with these major recruitments,” said Schwerkolt.

“The addition of Geoff Slater as Technical Director and the expertise of Adrian Burgess as our new Team Principal alongside our impressive group of engineers and mechanics puts us in a strong position to move forwards up the grid this year.

“With our skilled crew and the engineering firepower we’ve got, we’re pumped to get to work and put together a package for Frosty [Winterbottom] and Dave [Reynolds] to contend this year.”

Burgess added, “Joining Team 18 as the new Team Principal is an exciting challenge, and I’m confident in the capabilities of our newly formed engineering group.

“It’s a great coup to recruit Geoff Slater as Technical Director, and alongside our dedicated team of engineers and mechanics we’re ready to hit the ground running and compete at the highest level.”