For the second year running, Bathurst 1000 winner Reynolds is a central figure in the Supercars silly season.

Having had an option on his contract taken up by Team 18 for the current campaign, Reynolds is back to potentially facing free agency at the end of this year.

Fuelling speculation over Reynolds’ future is Team 18’s homologation team status with General Motors and the ongoing rumblings that the carmaker is keen to lure a high-profile star from another manufacturer.

It is an open secret that current Grove Racing driver Matt Payne is the latest target for GM with Team 18 a logical home for the Kiwi if a deal could be struck.

Grove Racing, however, is adamant that it has Payne under contract for 2027.

While that doesn’t definitively preclude a move next season it does mean that a switch could be delayed until 2028, something that is potentially an external factor in Reynolds’ future.

While understandably unwilling to comment on the Payne speculation, Team 18 is clear on its position regarding Reynolds – it is fully backing the veteran for the current campaign and is pushing for him to make any decisions regarding other drivers as difficult as possible.

“Dave is still a very good driver and the last couple of years, we could probably say we didn’t give him the best machinery,” Burgess told Speedcafe.

“He did a great job in Sydney and then, us as a team, I don’t feel we delivered a very good product at the [Australian] Grand Prix.

“We want Dave to make everything hard for us. If he’s winning races, on the podium, and in front of Anton [De Pasquale] or pushing Anton, then why does anyone need to make a change?

“But conversely our job, as it is with every team, is to understand the market and make sure we know when people are available and when they’re not.

“Dave will say it himself, he’s closer to the end of his career than he is the start of his career. But there’s no timeline yet.

“We don’t want to think about it. We’re focussed on supporting Dave and Anton and doing the best job for the pair of them this year. And when the time comes, then we’ll have those discussions.

“At the moment, our focus is on producing two quick cars and giving [Reynolds] the best opportunity to show everybody what he can do. We know he can still do it.

“Dave has circuits he likes and circuits he doesn’t like. Before this season started we sat down together and I said, ‘I don’t want to hear you saying you don’t like Sydney Motorsport Park. If I hear you say that once, I’m gonna stick my foot up your arse’.

“And all weekend I didn’t hear it. He went there with a good attitude.

“That’s what we’re doing with each other, we’re working together, supporting each other, and those things will sort themselves out at the right time.”