Shop
Father-son duo Stephen and Brenton Grove will contest the full Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS for the first time, as a Bronze-Silver pairing.
The international campaign will include the 12 Hours of Sepang next week, the 24H Portimao in May, and Intercontinental GT Challenge events, the Indy 8 Hour and Gulf 12 Hours.
Furthermore, as previously announced, they will do so in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 after making the switch from Porsche machinery.
The Groves’ local and international GT campaign will enjoy the engineering and technical knowhow of their Supercars team, Penrite Racing, supported by Earl Bamber Motorsport for at-track and logistical support.
Furthermore, Matt Payne has been confirmed in the driving crew for the 12 Hours of Sepang, after they took him to January’s 24H Dubai and Richie Stanaway to last December’s Gulf 12 Hours.
“We’re really excited to do some domestic racing, which has been rare over the past few years,” said Brenton Grove.
“We haven’t ever done a full season in GT World Challenge Australia, however after a lot of the changes that have been announced over Christmas and knowing how SRO work, we couldn’t help but commit to the full season. The calendar and championship is shaping up to be super exciting.
“We’ve already settled in really well with the AMG after Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sepang. The biggest benefit will be back on Australian tracks that we know so the learning process with the car should be a lot less difficult.
“We’re utilising the race engineers from our Supercar programme throughout the season, so it’s really exciting to grow Grove Racing’s presence further.
“We’ve competed in GT for many years now, however it’s the first time that the Supercar operation has had any real involvement.
“We’re taking Alistair [McVean, Stanaway’s Race Engineer] and Jack [Bell, Payne’s Race Engineer] to our overseas races this year too, so it’s exciting to grow the engineering knowledge of Grove Racing in another discipline.
“From what we’ve seen, it appears the field is quite competitive. This is another bonus as we want to be racing the best.
“The better the field, the bigger the show and that’s important during this growth period of GT racing in Australia.”
Grove Racing boasts class wins in the Bathurst 12 Hour, titles in Carrera Cup, and a finish of fourth in the championship in GT World Challenge Australia in 2021.
Stephen Grove is eager for more miles in their Mercedes-AMGs after his experiences in the Middle East in recent months.
“I really love the car,” he said.
“It’s great to drive and to have one here in the Australian championship and one for our overseas races is super exciting.
“Compared to the Porsche, the speed in the Mercedes comes more from its horsepower.
“Being a front-engined car, it also gives you a lot of confidence with all of the weight at the front. The Porsche is more nervous in the rear, so for an Am driver, it makes me feel very confident.
“Brenton and I have raced together for so long, and it’s fantastic that we can continue to do that amongst a very competitive local field.
“Some of the other Pro-Am cars have Gold- or Platinum-rated drivers, usually drivers from Supercars or overseas imports. That puts a lot of responsibility on Brenton and myself, so it just means we need to work hard.
“We’ll see how we go, but I’m looking forward to doing it again in a new car.”
The Grove Racing Mercedes-AMGs will sport a new, black and white look for the year ahead.
The 2024 GT World Challenge Australia season starts at Phillip Island at the Shannons SpeedSeries event on April 12-14.
