News today that veteran Will Davison has been axed by Dick Johnson Racing in favour of teen rookie Rylan Gray ends months of speculation over the contracted star.
DJR had been publicly backing the veteran as part of efforts to support the two-time Bathurst 1000 winner, but ultimately decided to cut ties.
Davison joins fellow veteran James Courtney (Blanchard Racing Team) and Nick Percat (Matt Stone Racing) in retiring to co-driver duties.
Courtney had flagged his intention to retire before the season began and rejected offers, including from BRT, to race on into 2026.
Percat meanwhile had two years remaining on his MSR contract but opted for retirement after it became clear that he was on the outer.
There is relative stability at the front end of the grid with Red Bull Ampol Racing, Grove Racing, Tickford Racing, Walkinshaw Andretti United and Team 18 keeping their current line-ups.
Tickford moved early to lock down both Cam Waters and Thomas Randle in June, while Triple Eight signed new multi-year deals with Broc Feeney and Will Brown the following month.
Those contracts came as GM sounded out a star driver in the wake of January’s bombshell that Triple Eight is heading to Ford.
GM’s replacement homologation squad, Team 18, explored the market before ultimately electing to take up its option on veteran David Reynolds.
Percat’s MSR teammate Cam Hill kicked off the silly season moves by opting for Brad Jones Racing, replacing Bryce Fullwood at the Albury-based team as it switches from GM to newcomer Toyota.
He joins spearhead Andre Heimgartner and Macauley Jones in the now three-car BJR line-up, following SCT Motorsport’s decision to move its entry to Triple Eight.
SCT dumped Jaxon Evans for Triple Eight Super2 driver Jackson Walls as part of that switch, in a decision it insists is unrelated to the Walls family fortune that has funded his career to date.
PremiAir Racing opted for a double change with James Golding and Richie Stanaway replaced by WAU co-driver Jayden Ojeda and 2022 Super2 Series winner Declan Fraser.
Stanaway has already been cut loose following the Gold Coast, allowing Ojeda to get an early start on life as a full-time Supercars driver.
Golding meanwhile read the room before Bathurst and signed on to replace Courtney at BRT, set to arrive as the team begins a new customer relationship with Triple Eight.
BRT is expected to soon confirm incumbent Aaron Cameron as continuing for another season. He joined the squad at Albert Park following a parting of ways with Aaron Love.
The other yet-to-be-announced seat is at MSR, where 2024 Super2 Series winner Zach Bates is set to land following a strong campaign as Triple Eight’s wildcard this year.
MSR has already confirmed the return of Jack Le Brocq, who moved on from Erebus Motorsport to make way for young gun Jobe Stewart.
Super2 Series runner Stewart starred on debut in the Enduro Cup as co-driver to Cooper Murray, who will return to the team for a second season.
The changes make for five rookies (Walls, Gray, Bates, Ojeda and Stewart), one returnee (Fraser) three retirements (Davison, Percat, Courtney) and three exiled (Fullwood, Evans and Stanaway).
Three teams are meanwhile switching manufacturers – Triple Eight from GM to Ford, Walkinshaw Andretti United from Ford to Toyota and Brad Jones Racing from GM to Toyota.
The 2026 season will kick-off at Sydney Motorsport Park on February 20-22, as confirmed by this week’s release of the full 14-round calendar.
2026 Supercars Championship line-up
Triple Eight (Ford)
Will Brown, Broc Feeney, Jackson Walls
Grove Racing (Ford)
Matt Payne, Kai Allen
Tickford Racing (Ford)
Cam Waters, Thomas Randle
Walkinshaw Andretti United (Toyota)
Chaz Mostert, Ryan Wood
Team 18 (GM)
Anton De Pasquale, David Reynolds
Brad Jones Racing (Toyota)
Andre Heigmartner, Cam Hill, Macauley Jones
Dick Johnson Racing (Ford)
Brodie Kostecki, Rylan Gray
Matt Stone Racing (GM)
Jack Le Brocq, Zach Bates*
PremiAir Racing (GM)
Jayden Ojeda, Declan Fraser
Erebus Motorsport (GM)
Cooper Murray, Jobe Stewart
Blanchard Racing Team (Ford)
James Golding, Aaron Cameron*
*yet to be announced
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