Bates will drive his Ashley Seward Motorsport-prepared Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the Am class and will compete single handily.

In previous seasons he has raced in Pro-Am with drivers of the like of David Reynolds and Jordan Love.

“After not having raced nor been in the car since Barbagallo in May last year, it was a thrill to get back behind the wheel,” Bates said, enthused by a recent and successful test session.

“It didn’t take me long to get back into the groove – David Reynolds was on hand to lend a few tips and Ash had the car perfectly balanced, so I was able to punch out some really competitive times on old tyres around Phillip Island, which has me ready and rearing to go for Round 1.

“It’s been a while since I’ve raced on my own, and I’m looking forward to the physical and mental challenges of being in the car for an extended period of time.

“Whilst I would have loved to have competed in the Pro-Am class, the objective here is to get as much seat time as possible, hence the decision to run Am alone. For Round 2 and beyond, I may decide to get back into Pro-Am which is more than likely.

“While it might be the ‘non-professional’ class, there are still some very skilled drivers in the field; I’ll need to bring my absolute A-game, but the goal is definitely to get seat time and be fighting for the class win.”

Bates pleased to be reunited with the ASM which he has had a long-standing relationship and highlighted by Carrera Cup title in 2016..

“Tony hasn’t raced for 12 months, so it’s more about giving him lap value and getting maximum value for him,” added team boss Seward.

“Despite him being out of the driver’s seat for a while, he was back to a good pace quickly at our recent test.

“It’s great to come back into the GT World Challenge field, and we just want to do the best job that we can for Tony and get him back on the bike.”

The two one-hour GT races are a part of the Shannons SpeedSeries will be broadcast live on 7Plus.