MSR confirms Percat co-driver switch

As first revealed by Speedcafe, MSR has secured Slade’s services for its lead entry for the long-distance races at The Bend and Bathurst.

Slade replaces Dylan O’Keeffe in the #10 entry alongside Percat and arrives as one of the top draft picks, given he only retired from full-time Supercars competition at the end of last season.

Notably, the pair form an all-South Australian line-up as the state hosts a two-driver enduro for the first time.

There is also history between the two drivers, who were teammates at Walkinshaw Racing and Brad Jones Racing, while Slade has a connection to the Stone family through his time at Stone Brothers Racing.

“I’m looking forward to teaming up with Nick and the team at MSR for The Bend and Bathurst later this year,” said Slade.

“The team has achieved some great results since the inception of Gen3 and Nick obviously had a strong first year with the team, collecting a couple of wins.

“There’s lots of familiar faces having worked with not only Nick previously but also Matt [and] Jimmy [Stone] and some of the key staff from SBR back in the day.

“Another familiar face is James Rosenberg who has had some involvement with the team for a while now, so racing aside, it’s a really nice fit.”

According to MSR owner Matt Stone, the Percat/Slade combo represents the team’s best shot at a Bathurst 1000 win.

“Signing Tim as a co-driver alongside Nick puts MSR in the best position we have ever been as a team to win the Bathurst 1000,” he said.

“It’s great to be reunited with him for the first time since the Stone Brothers Racing days. Tim has been one of the most consistent and respected drivers in the Supercars paddock for almost two decades and we are thrilled to have him onboard.

“We’re looking forward to working with him across all of our testing and race programs and getting him settled into our outfit.”

MSR still needs to lock another two co-drivers in for the long-distance races thanks to its wildcard program.

The team will run a third car for Cameron Crick, who partnered Cameron Hill at the enduros last year, at three races this year, including The Bend and Bathurst.

That means Hill needs a new co-driver while Crick will also need a partner for the enduros.

Confirmed enduro line-ups for 2025 include Triple Eight (Scott Pye, Jamie Whincup), Dick Johnson Racing (Tony D’Alberto, Todd Hazelwood), Tickford (Mark Winterbottom, James Moffat), Erebus (Jobe Stewart, Jarrod Hughes) and Grove Racing (Garth Tander, Dale Wood).

Walkinshaw Andretti United is expected to name Jayden Ojeda and Fabian Coulthard as its enduro drivers, while Team 18 and PremiAir Racing have one each in Lee Holdsworth and David Russell respectively.