Mark Winterbottom on Thursday became the latest driver to declare his hand, revealing he’ll step back to co-driving duties next year following 21 full-time seasons.
He joins recent Bathurst 1000 winner Todd Hazelwood and full-time retiree Tim Slade as the headline acts in a co-driver market that involves every Supercars team.
The flatout nature of this year’s Bathurst 1000 shone a spotlight on outright speed, emphasising the value of a top co-driver.
Winterbottom is being linked to a co-drive at Tickford Racing – a team with which he spent 13 seasons prior to a 2019 switch to current home Team 18.
It looms as a potential ‘fairtytale’ storyline for the driver, who won the 2013 Bathurst 1000 and 2015 Supercars title with the Ford squad.
Asked on Thursday whether a return to the Blue Oval would be of interest, Winterbottom stressed that he’s still dealing with the emotions of his full-time exit.
“Sometimes fairytales get written. We’ll see what happens,” he added coyly. “I haven’t done anything yet. There’s options, we’ll weigh it all up.”
As reported by Speedcafe earlier this week, Hazelwood is expected to follow his Bathurst-winning partner Brodie Kostecki from Erebus Motorsport to Dick Johnson Racing.
That would complete DJR’s endurance line-up, with Tony D’Alberto slated to switch from the squad’s #11 entry to partner Will Davison in #17.
DJR had one vacancy to fill courtesy of Davison’s 2024 partner Kai Allen graduating to a full-time drive with Grove Racing.
Erebus could be chasing two new co-drivers, with Jayden Ojeda also hot property following a pair of strong performances alongside Jack Le Brocq.
Ojeda is again expected to mix GT racing with a Supercars co-drive next year and is being linked to Walkinshaw Andretti United amid uncertainty over Lee Holdsworth’s future.
Holdsworth won Bathurst in 2021 with Chaz Mostert but appeared to struggle this year amid a lack of regular racing miles.
Ojeda has history with WAU, contesting two Supercars Championship events with the team as a wildcard in 2022.
Erebus has two potential in-house replacements for Hazelwood and Ojeda courtesy of its Super2 program, with Jobe Stewart and Jarrod Hughes both waiting in the wings.
Elsewhere, Slade’s future is uncertain having missed out on a seat at DJR, which was thought to be his preferred option.
“Nothing’s done,” Slade told Speedcafe this week.
“I’ve spoken to people, people have spoken to me, and I guess I haven’t really felt under a massive amount of pressure to rush into any decisions.
“In saying that, it’d be nice to have something done sooner than later.”
Triple Eight is expected to steer largely clear of the co-driver market, with Jamie Whincup having declared a desire to race on and Scott Pye joining in 2024 on a two-year deal.
It does, however, need a partner for Craig Lowndes in its wildcard entry as 2024 standout Cooper Murray heads to a full-time seat at Erebus Motorsport.
Current Super2 points leader Zach Bates is understood to be in contention for the wildcard ride amid expectations that he will not continue with WAU next year.
Triple Eight’s own Super2 recruits, Jackson Walls and Ben Gomersall, are not expected to factor in the wildcard conversation given their rookie status.
Among the few certainties in the co-driver ranks is Garth Tander, who Grove Racing last week announced has re-signed with the team on a multi-year, multi-faceted deal.
Tander enters his seventh year as a co-driver in 2025 following four years with Triple Eight – which netted two Bathurst 1000 wins – before a high-profile defection to Grove Racing.
The 2025 Supercars Enduro Cup will take in The Bend 500 on September 12-14 and the Bathurst 1000 on October 9-12.
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