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Triple Eight Race Engineering has announced the signing of Scott Pye as a co-driver from next year’s Supercars enduros.
The 33-year-old has signed a two-year contract with Triple Eight amid Shane van Gisbergen’s impending move to the United States to embark on a new career in NASCAR.
While the latter has not publicly ruled out a return to Supercars at some point, even next year, the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series calendar features road courses on one of the likely Sandown 500 dates and also that on which the Bathurst 1000 will inevitably fall.
Furthermore, Richie Stanaway, who partnered van Gisbergen to victory in the Great Race a week-and-a-half ago, has already inked a contract to return to full-time competition with Grove Racing next year, and hence Triple Eight had at least one vacancy in its enduro ranks.
However, with whom Pye will drive next year has been left open, with the team’s 2024 pairings to be announced “in due course.”
Already, one of its Red Bull Ampol Racing duos was set for change given Will Brown takes over van Gisbergen’s seat but Team Principal Jamie Whincup has not yet been confirmed for another enduro campaign after sharing victory with Broc Feeney in this year’s Sandown 500.
Coincidentally, Whincup’s most recent Bathurst 1000 win coincides with Pye’s first season as a Triple Eight driver, when he finished second in the 2012 Dunlop Super2 Series during his period managed by the squad’s then-Team Principal Roland Dane.
Dane’s successor as the boss at Banyo said on the South Australian’s return to the fold, “I’m really excited to welcome Scotty back to the Triple Eight family since his last stint with the team over a decade ago.
“Scotty’s experience is evident and his addition to the team as a co-driver for Red Bull Ampol Racing next year will be invaluable.
“He still has plenty to prove in the category and with the support of an incredible team around him, I think he will flourish.
“There will no doubt be a bit of chatter regarding who Scotty will team up with in 2024, but those are conversations we’ll have once we kick off the 2024 season.
“Nonetheless, he will complement either of our full-time drivers massively.”
Pye is a two-time Bathurst 1000 podium finisher, with Walkinshaw Andretti United in 2017 and 2018, and is about to come to the close of a four-year run competing full-time for Team 18.
He said, “I am really excited by the opportunity to return to the Triple Eight family from next season as a co-driver.
“It certainly feels like a bit of a homecoming for me having started my Supercars journey in Super2 with the team.
“I am looking forward to working with the unbelievable group of people in their team and am excited for the opportunity to go to the biggest races of the year with a real chance at success.
“You’re only as good as your team and I am as driven as ever to help Triple Eight continue their winning tradition.”
While Pye’s deal is for two years, it does include a clause allowing him to return to full-time driving in 2025 if a seat materialises.
