Garry Rogers Motorsport
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Garry Rogers Motorsport is an Australian motor racing team. It is owned by retired racing driver Garry Rogers who began the team to further his own racing efforts. Based in Melbourne, originally out of a Nissan dealership owned by Rogers, the team has competed in a variety of touring car series in Australia ranging from relatively modest Nissan production cars to Chevrolet NASCARs to building the GT specification
Holden Monaro 427C The Holden Monaro 427C was an Australian built and designed GT style race car based on the Holden Monaro CV8 road car. The car ran in the Procar Australia-run Australian Nations Cup Championship and at the short-lived Bathurst 24 Hour race a ...
. The team won the
Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most recen ...
in
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
and also won both of the
Bathurst 24 Hour The Bathurst 24 Hour was an endurance race for GT and production cars held at the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales in 2002 and 2003. Only two races were held before the collapse of the management organisation PROCAR. Both ...
races which were held in
2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
and
2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
. In 2013 the team celebrated its 50th year in racing since Rogers made his debut. Rogers has been famed as a talent spotter with a number of drivers finding their feet within GRM, including
Steven Richards Steven James Richards (born 11 July 1972) is a New Zealand-Australian racing driver, currently competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship. Richards, the son of seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Jim Richards, is himself a five-t ...
,
Jason Bargwanna Jason Eric Bargwanna (born 26 April, 1971) is an Australian motor racing driver. Best known as a Supercars Championship competitor, Bargwanna raced in the series for 25 years, the pinnacle of which was winning, with Garth Tander, the 2000 Bathu ...
,
Garth Tander Garth Tander (born 31 March 1977) is a multiple-championship winning Australian motor racing driver competing in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship's Enduro Cup, co-driving the No. 97 Holden ZB Commodore for Triple Eight Race Engineer ...
,
Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup (born 6 February 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver competing in the Supercars Championship. He currently is team principal for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He has driven the No. 88 Holden Commodore (ZB), Holden Z ...
,
Lee Holdsworth Lee Holdsworth (born 2 February 1983) is a semi-retired Australian racing driver. He won the 2021 Bathurst 1000 alongside Chaz Mostert and finished his full-time career after the 2022 season, after nearly two decades of racing. He plans to retur ...
and
Scott McLaughlin Scott Thomas McLaughlin (; born 10 June 1993) is a New Zealand racing driver. He currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 3 Dallara-Chevrolet for Team Penske. He previously raced in the Supercars Championship, in which he won ...
. Many of these drivers became future champions and Bathurst 1000 winners. The team competed in the 2019 TCR Australia Touring Car Series with two Renault Mégane R.S TCR and an Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR. They will enter the 2020 season as Renault Sport GRM, after being sponsored by Renault Australia, in which they will run three Renault Mégane R.S TCRs. In 2018, Gary Rogers Motorsport built the first batch of S5000 single-seater race cars as apart of a partnership with the newly created
S5000 Australian Drivers' Championship The VHT S5000 Australian Drivers' Championship (known originally as the Australian S5000 Championship, or simply S5000) is a current open-wheel road racing series in Australia. The series was created by a merger between two proposed series, Form ...
race category.


The early years

Garry Rogers Motorsport has its origins in 1963 when Garry Rogers began racing
Appendix J The International Sporting Code (ISC) is a set of rules which are valid for all auto racing events that are governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). North American domestic racing, such as NASCAR and IndyCar are outside th ...
Holdens. He then went on to race Sports Sedans during the late 1960s and the 1970s. In the mid-1970s Rogers got more serious, running a BDA Escort in Sports Sedans with some success, before moving onto an ex-
Ian Geoghegan Ian "Pete" Geoghegan, (26 April 1939 – 15 November 2003) was an Australian race car driver, known for a quick wit and natural driving skills. Sometimes referred to as "Pete" Geoghegan, he was one of the iconic characters of the 1960s and 197 ...
Holden Monaro The Holden Monaro ( ) is a rear-wheel drive coupé manufactured by General Motors Holden in Australia from 1968 to 1975 and later reintroduced from 2001 to 2005. It was also manufactured as a 4-door sedan from 1973 to 1977. Three generations of ...
. Around this time, in late 1978, Rogers also moved into the
Australian Touring Car Championship The Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) is a touring car racing award held in Australia since 1960. The series itself is no longer contested, but the title lives on, with the winner of the Repco Supercars Championship awarded the trophy ...
as a privateer in an ex-
Bob Jane Robert Frederick Jane (18 December 1929 – 28 September 2018) was an Australian race car driver and prominent entrepreneur and business tycoon. A four-time winner of the Armstrong 500, the race that became the prestigious Bathurst 1000 and a ...
Holden Torana The Holden Torana is a mid-sized car that was manufactured by Holden from 1967 to 1980. The name apparently comes from an word meaning "to fly" in an unconfirmed Aboriginal Australian language. The original HB series Torana was released in 19 ...
. He ran through until the end of 1979 in touring cars before turning his attention back to Sports Sedans, putting in a big effort in the
1981 Australian Sports Sedan Championship The 1981 Australian Sports Sedan Championship was an Australian motor racing competition for Group B Sports Sedans.CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, 1981, Page 94 It was sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport and was the sixth Austra ...
driving a Holden Torana LX SS A9X Hatchback. The team disbanded while Rogers concentrated on his Nissan dealership and he drove for other teams at the
Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most recen ...
, including Allan Browne's Re-Car team in
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
paired with Ron Wanless (who famously drove the
Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...
the wrong direction through pit lane without incurring a penalty). Rogers was a top 10 qualifier at Bathurst in
1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
, partnering Clive Benson-Brown to a 13th-place finish after suffering brake problems, while in 1984 he drove with Melbourne's motor racing 'Gentleman', Captain
Peter Janson "Captain" Peter Janson (born 10 April 1940 in New Zealand) is an Australian socialite and former motor racing driver. Janson was born in New Zealand, emigrating to England at a young age. In 1967, he moved to Australia and settled in Melbourn ...
in the Castrol 500 at
Sandown Sandown is a seaside resort and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom with the resort of Shanklin to the south and the settlement of Lake, Isle of Wight, Lake in between. Together ...
, and the James Hardie 1000 at Bathurst in Janson's Commodore. The car failed to finish both endurance races. As Australian touring car racing went to regulations based on FIA
Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles w ...
from
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
, Rogers once again only drove at
Sandown Sandown is a seaside resort and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom with the resort of Shanklin to the south and the settlement of Lake, Isle of Wight, Lake in between. Together ...
and Bathurst, teaming with Melbourne solicitor Jim Keogh in Keogh's ex-
JPS Team BMW JPS Team BMW is a former Australian motor racing team that ran from 1981–1987. The team's main focus was touring car racing but also ran in sports sedans and GT cars as well. The team, under the management of former British Touring Car Cham ...
635 CSi. After not finishing at Sandown, the pair finished 6th outright at Bathurst, 4 laps behind the TWR
Jaguar XJS The Jaguar XJ-S (later called XJS) is a luxury grand tourer manufactured and marketed by British car manufacturer Jaguar Cars from 1975 to 1996, in coupé, fixed-profile and full convertible bodystyles. There were three distinct iterations, w ...
of John Goss and
Armin Hahne Armin Hahne (born September 10, 1955 in Moers, West Germany) is a German racing driver, best known for his exploits in touring car racing. The highpoint of his career was winning both the 1982 and 1983 Spa 24 Hours driving BMW's. Another highli ...
. GRM re-emerged in 1986 when he purchased a BMW 635 CSi from JPS Team BMW and drove it throughout that year's touring car season. The year included a win in one of the AMSCAR Series races at Amaroo Park. Rogers BMW carried sponsorship from
Bob Jane T-Marts Bob Jane T-Marts is a chain of tyre stores founded by former race car driver Bob Jane in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in 1965. The company has grown to encompass over 100 franchises across Australia. Overview The company remains an independe ...
, with the car painted in Bob Jane's famous Hugger Orange. At the 1986 James Hardie 1000, Rogers teamed with Queenslander
Charlie O'Brien Charles Hugh O'Brien (born May 1, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Oakland Athletics (1985), Milwaukee Brewers (1987–90), New York Mets (1990–93), Atlanta Bra ...
. After qualifying 22nd, O'Brien started the race, but the car was struck down by a slipping clutch which led to its retirement after just 19 laps with Rogers not actually getting to drive. After spending 1987 on ice, the team came back in late-1988 with a Les Small (
Roadways Racing Roadways Racing was an Australian motor racing team that competed in Australian Touring Car racing in the 1980s. It also competed in the 1986 European Touring Car Championship. Roadways Racing Roadways Racing’s origins can be traced back to ...
) prepared, but unsponsored
Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV The Holden Commodore (VL) is a mid-size car that was produced by Holden from 1986 to 1988. It was the final iteration of the first generation of the Holden Commodore and included the luxury variant, Holden Calais (VL). Between February 1986 and ...
at the Tooheys 1000, sharing the drive with
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
John Andretti John Andrew Andretti (March 12, 1963January 30, 2020) was an American race car driver. He won individual races in CART, IMSA GTP, Rolex Sports Car Series, and NASCAR during his career. He was the son of Aldo Andretti, older brother of racer Ada ...
, the nephew of motor racing legend
Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver. One of the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, t ...
. Rogers had originally wanted Mario to drive with him at Bathurst, hoping his high-profile would help land a major sponsor, but the
World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
was unavailable and suggested his nephew as a replacement. Unfortunately though, the younger Andretti was recovering from a broken leg (he still needed crutches outside of the car), continued the tradition of American drivers not having a good Bathurst record and on lap 37 put the Commodore into the wall at Reid Park. To his credit Andretti admitted the accident was caused by driver error, going too fast, too soon, on cold tyres. The Commodore was also run in selected (mostly Victorian based) rounds throughout the 1989 Australian Touring Car Championship. For the 1989 Bathurst 1000, Rogers accepted an offer to drive
Colin Bond Colin John Bond (born 24 February 1942) is a retired Australian racing driver. Bond reached the highest levels in Australian motorsport in 1969 when he was recruited by Harry Firth to the newly formed Holden Dealer Team. He quickly found succ ...
's Caltex CXT Race Team's second
Ford Sierra RS500 The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth is a high-performance version of the Ford Sierra that was built by Ford Europe from 1986 to 1992. It was the result of a Ford Motorsport project with the purpose of producing an outright winner for Group A racing in ...
with Ken Mathews (the car was the Sierra that
Tony Longhurst Anthony Lawrence Longhurst (born 1 October 1957 in Sydney) is an Australian racing driver and former Australian Champion water skier. He is most noted for his career in the Australian Touring Car Championship and V8 Supercar series. Longhurst is ...
and
Tomas Mezera Tomas Mezera (born 5 November 1958 in Czechoslovakia) is a naturalised Australian racing driver. Mezera won the 1988 Bathurst 1000, and for many years was a member of the Holden Racing Team as both a driver and team manager. Mezera's sporting ...
had driven to victory the 1988 race). Rogers and Mathews failed to finish the race. In the early 1990s GRM turned its attention to the
Calder Park Thunderdome Calder Park Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The complex includes a dragstrip, a road circuit with several possible configurations, and the "Thunderdome", a high-speed banked oval equipped to race either clo ...
and the AUSCAR series running a variety of
Ford Falcon Ford Falcon is an automobile nameplate applied to several vehicles worldwide. * Ford Falcon (North America), an automobile produced by Ford from 1960 to 1970. * Ford Falcon (Argentina), a car built by Ford Argentina from 1962 until 1991. * Fo ...
s during the category's heyday (during the 1990s AUSCAR fields were dominated by the
Holden Commodore The Holden Commodore is a full-size car that was sold by Holden from 1978 to 2020. It was manufactured from 1978 to 2017 in Australia and from 1979 to 1990 in New Zealand, with production of the locally manufactured versions in Australia endin ...
). At first, Rogers drove the car himself alongside Paul Fordham. Garry slowly eased himself out of regular driving, putting
Steven Richards Steven James Richards (born 11 July 1972) is a New Zealand-Australian racing driver, currently competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship. Richards, the son of seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Jim Richards, is himself a five-t ...
in the seat. The team also secured a major sponsor in
Valvoline Valvoline Inc. is an American manufacturer and distributor of Valvoline-brand automotive oil, additives, and lubricants. It also owns the Valvoline Instant Oil Change and Valvoline Express Care chains of car repair centers. , it is the second la ...
along the way. In this time the team also competed in Production Car racing at events such as the Winton 300 and
Bathurst 12 Hour The Bathurst 12 Hour, currently known as the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour for sponsorship reasons, is an annual endurance race for GT and production cars held at the Mount Panorama Circuit, in Bathurst, Australia. The race was first held in ...
. The team used a
Nissan Pulsar The is a line of automobiles produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1978 until 2000, when it was replaced by the Nissan Bluebird Sylphy in the Japanese market. Between 2000 and 2005, the name "Pulsar" has been used in Australia and New ...
and a 300ZX due to Rogers' links with Nissan (he owns a Nissan dealership in Melbourne). Rogers also ran and then assisted Formula Ford teams during the 1990s, helping title sponsor Valvoline's promotion of Australian motorsport, as well as helping drivers such as Steven Richards and
Garth Tander Garth Tander (born 31 March 1977) is a multiple-championship winning Australian motor racing driver competing in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship's Enduro Cup, co-driving the No. 97 Holden ZB Commodore for Triple Eight Race Engineer ...
.


Super Touring

GRM joined the fledgling
Australian Super Touring Championship The Australian Super Touring Championship (formerly known as the Australian 2.0 Litre Touring Car Championship) was a CAMS-sanctioned national motor racing title for Super Touring Cars. History Super Touring was introduced into Australia in 1993 ...
in
1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
with young lead driver
Steven Richards Steven James Richards (born 11 July 1972) is a New Zealand-Australian racing driver, currently competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship. Richards, the son of seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Jim Richards, is himself a five-t ...
driving the team's
Alfa Romeo 155 The Alfa Romeo 155 (Type 167) is a compact executive car produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Alfa Romeo between 1992 and 1998. It was unveiled in January 1992 at Barcelona, with the first public launch in March 1992, at the Geneva Motor S ...
. Quickly Richards was established as one of the series leading privateers, finishing ninth in the burgeoning championship. In 1995 the team replaced the Alfa with a
Honda Accord The , also known as the in Japan and China for certain generations, is a series of cars manufactured by Honda since 1976, best known for its four-door sedan variant, which has been one of the best-selling cars in the United States since 1989. ...
and Richards used it to win the Privateers Cup and place fifth in the championship behind the two factory supported BMW and Audi drivers. The team continued into 1996, replacing the Honda with a
Nissan Primera The is a Mid-size car, large family car which was produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1990 to 2007, for the markets in Japan and Europe. In Japan, it replaced the Nissan Stanza, Auster/Stanza, and was exclusive to ''Nissan Motor Comp ...
but the team's form slipped, distracted by their new V8 Supercar and Richards finished seventh, losing the Privateers Cup to Cameron McLean.


Supercars Championship


1990s

Garry Rogers Motorsport joined the
Australian Touring Car Championship The Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) is a touring car racing award held in Australia since 1960. The series itself is no longer contested, but the title lives on, with the winner of the Repco Supercars Championship awarded the trophy ...
in 1996 with Richards a driving a
Holden VS Commodore The Holden Commodore (VS) is an executive car which was produced by Holden from 1995 to 1997 and 2000 for utility versions. It was the fourth and final iteration of the second generation of the Commodore. The range included the luxury variants, ...
sourced from
Gibson Motorsport Gibson Motorsport was an Australian motor racing team that competed in the Australian Touring Car Championship from 1981 until 2003, though the team had its roots in Gibson's "Road & Track" team which ran a series of Ford Falcon GTHOs in Series ...
. The team expanded to two cars in 1998, with
Jason Bargwanna Jason Eric Bargwanna (born 26 April, 1971) is an Australian motor racing driver. Best known as a Supercars Championship competitor, Bargwanna raced in the series for 25 years, the pinnacle of which was winning, with Garth Tander, the 2000 Bathu ...
driving the second car. Richards went to
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
for a test drive with the
Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
team in the
British Touring Car Championship The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA TOCA, formally trading as BARC (TOCA) Ltd, is an organiser of motorsport events in ...
and was replaced by 1997 Australian Formula Ford champion Garth Tander. Bargwanna scored the team's first race win at Calder that year, also finishing second for the round. Tander scored the team's first round win in 1999 at
Queensland Raceway Queensland Raceway nicknamed "the paperclip" is a motor racing circuit located at Willowbank in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. The circuit did host Supercars Championship until 2019, drifting as well as club level racing and ride days. Qu ...
and he and Bargwanna finished second in the
Queensland 500 The Queensland 500 was a motorsport endurance race held at Queensland Raceway near Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. It was best known as a V8 Supercars race held from 1999 to 2002. It was also very famous for The Ford AU Falcon taking two of i ...
in the same year.


2000s

The 2000 season remains the team's most successful season to date. Tander won three rounds (including the
Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most recen ...
with Bargwanna) and finished runner-up to
Mark Skaife Mark Skaife (born 3 April 1967) is a retired Australian motor racing driver. Skaife is a five-time champion of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, including its predecessor, the Australian Touring Car Championship, as well as a six-time Bath ...
in the title. Tander led the series early in the season but a couple of bad rounds in the middle of the season allowed Skaife to take the championship lead. Compared to 2000, 2001 was a poor season for the team, with Tander and Bargwanna finishing tenth and fifteenth in the points respectively and a best finish of second for Tander in
Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
. Bargwanna took his final win for the team at Surfers Paradise in 2002 before switching to
Larkham Motor Sport Larkham Motor Sport was a motorsport team contesting the V8 Supercar Championship between 1995 and 2005. History Larkham Motor Sport was formed in 1990 with the intent of furthering Mark Larkham's career after he won the 1989 Australian Formu ...
for the 2003 season. He was replaced by 2002 Australian Formula Ford champion
Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup (born 6 February 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver competing in the Supercars Championship. He currently is team principal for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He has driven the No. 88 Holden Commodore (ZB), Holden Z ...
. GRM was one of the first teams to use the
Holden VY Commodore The Holden Commodore (VY) is an executive car that was produced by Holden from 2002 to 2004. It was the third iteration of the third generation of the Commodore. Its range included the luxury variants, Holden Berlina (VY) and Holden Calais (VY ...
for the 2003 season, with Tander driving the new model car. Whincup would drive an older model VX Commodore. Whincup was sacked at the end of the season and was replaced by
Cameron McConville Cameron 'Conkers' McConville (born 22 January 1974) is an Australian racing driver and motorsport celebrity. While retired from full-time competition, McConville still races occasionally and is an in-demand endurance event co-driver. McConville ...
for 2004. McConville took the team's first round win in two years in controversial circumstances at Winton when he passed
Rick Kelly Rick Kelly (born 17 January 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver who previously competed in the Supercars Championship. He last drove the No. 15 Ford Mustang GT for Kelly Racing. Previously, he drove for the HSV Dealer Team with w ...
on the second last corner of the race just after the end of a yellow flag zone. Tander left the team at the end of 2004 for what was then called Kmart Racing and was replaced by Andrew Jones. Jones was sacked after Bathurst and was replaced by
Dean Canto Dean Justin Canto (born 24 September 1980) is a multiple-championship winning Australian motor racing driver. Best noted as a Supercars driver, Canto was the inaugural winner of the second-tier V8 Supercar development series in 2000, and the fir ...
for two of the final three rounds of 2005 and the 2006 season.
Lee Holdsworth Lee Holdsworth (born 2 February 1983) is a semi-retired Australian racing driver. He won the 2021 Bathurst 1000 alongside Chaz Mostert and finished his full-time career after the 2022 season, after nearly two decades of racing. He plans to retur ...
also joined the team in 2006, as well as driving in the final round of 2005, with McConville moving to
Paul Weel Racing Paul Weel Racing was an Australian motor racing team which competed in the V8 Supercars Championship Series between 1998 and 2008. Ford Years After some brief appearances in 1997 in minor events, Paul Weel Racing debuted in the 1998 Australi ...
. The team scored one race win in 2006 with Canto winning the reverse grid race at Barbagallo after
Team Kiwi Racing Team Kiwi Racing is a racing team that previously competed in the Australian V8 Supercar series, the Australian Carrera Cup Series, The New Zealand 2.0ltr Touring Car Championship, The NZV8 Championship and BMW Championship Series. The team has s ...
driver
Paul Radisich Paul Radisich (born 9 October 1962, in Auckland) is a retired New Zealand racing driver and businessman of Croat origin. He has competed in saloon cars for many years — both European-style tourers and the V8 Supercars of Australia and New ...
spun off the track at the last corner. 2007 saw the team's first major livery change since joining the sport, with the traditional blue, white and red replaced by black, silver and red. Major sponsor Repco also left the team. Holdsworth and Canto remained with the team with Canto driving a new
Holden VE Commodore The Holden Commodore (VE) is an executive car that was produced by Holden from 2006 to 2013. It was the first iteration of the fourth generation of the Commodore. Its range included the luxury variants, Holden Berlina (VE) and Holden Calais (VE ...
. Holdsworth remained in a VZ Commodore until the
Queensland Raceway Queensland Raceway nicknamed "the paperclip" is a motor racing circuit located at Willowbank in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. The circuit did host Supercars Championship until 2019, drifting as well as club level racing and ride days. Qu ...
round. Holdsworth was involved in a serious crash in Round 4 at Winton when his car slid off the circuit and went backwards into the wall at high speed. Holdsworth rebounded quickly to score his maiden V8 Supercar round win at
Oran Park Raceway Oran Park Raceway was a motor racing circuit at Narellan south west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia which was operational from February 1962 until its closure in January 2010. The track was designed and started by George Murray and Jac ...
. After qualifying a career best fourth, Holdsworth dominated the final race of the weekend in very wet weather after a good strategy call from the team at the start of the race. Holdsworth was commended for his composure during the race while other, more experienced drivers made errors. Michael Caruso joined the team for 2008, replacing Canto. No wins came for the team in this season, however Holdsworth finished second at the
Clipsal 500 The Adelaide 500 (also known as the VALO Adelaide 500 for sponsorship reasons) is an annual motor racing event for Supercars held on the streets of the east end of Adelaide, South Australia between 1999 to 2020 and again from 2022. It is sometim ...
and he and Caruso finished fifth at the L&H 500. Caruso won his first race in 2009, holding off a late race charge from
Alex Davison Alexander Davison (born 3 November 1979) is an Australian racing driver. He won the 2004 Australian Carrera Cup Championship. As part of the Davison motorsport family, he is the older brother of Will Davison, grandson of Lex Davison and cousin ...
in the Sunday race at Hidden Valley. Holdsworth was again on the podium at the
Clipsal 500 The Adelaide 500 (also known as the VALO Adelaide 500 for sponsorship reasons) is an annual motor racing event for Supercars held on the streets of the east end of Adelaide, South Australia between 1999 to 2020 and again from 2022. It is sometim ...
, finishing second in the Saturday race. The team also achieved a podium at Bathurst, with Holdsworth and Caruso finishing third. The second car of
Greg Ritter Greg Ritter (born 20 February 1973, in Victoria) is an Australian racing driver. He was the winner of the 1999 Australian Formula Ford Championship The 1999 Australian Formula Ford Championship was an Australian motor racing competition for ...
and
David Besnard David Besnard, (born 21 January 1977 in Sydney, Australia) is a retired professional racing driver. Career history Starting in karts in 1991, he quickly proceeded into Formula Ford in 1995. After initial success, he had a major accident at Easte ...
looked like being in a position to win the race in the closing stages before a poorly timed safety car meant that they only finished ninth.


2010s

2010 saw the team's major sponsor change from Valvoline to Fujitsu with the livery changing in accordance, to red and white separated by black lines. The
Clipsal 500 The Adelaide 500 (also known as the VALO Adelaide 500 for sponsorship reasons) is an annual motor racing event for Supercars held on the streets of the east end of Adelaide, South Australia between 1999 to 2020 and again from 2022. It is sometim ...
saw Holdsworth finish on the podium at the event for the third year in a row, Holdsworth taking third place on Sunday. The team came very close to winning the
Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most recen ...
, with Holdsworth and Besnard leading the majority of the race. A drive-through penalty for speeding in pit lane with thirty laps to go meant that the pair would only finish in seventh place, while Caruso and Ritter finished tenth. Holdsworth won the final race of the year at the Sydney 500 after taking both pole positions for the event. Holdsworth and Caruso remained with the team in 2011 for their fourth consecutive season at teammates. The team was only able to achieve three podium results, with Holdsworth finishing second at
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
and at Winton and third at the 2011 Gold Coast 600, driving with Frenchman
Simon Pagenaud Simon Pagenaud (born 18 May 1984) is a French professional racing driver. He is contracted to drive the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in the IndyCar Series. After a successful career in sports car racing that saw him taking the top class ...
. Caruso achieved a best result of fourth at the Sydney 500. Holdsworth left the team to join
Stone Brothers Racing Stone Brothers Racing (SBR) was an Australian motor racing team that competed in the International V8 Supercars Championship between 1998 and 2012. The team was formed in 1998 when Ross and Jim Stone bought Alan Jones's shares in Alan Jones ...
in 2012 and he was replaced by French driver
Alexandre Prémat Alexandre Prémat (born 5 November 1982) is a French racing driver. He won the Pirtek Enduro Cup for Triple Eight Race Engineering alongside Shane van Gisbergen in 2016. He also won the 2019 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 with Scott McLaughlin, d ...
, while Caruso entered his fifth season with the team. The team struggled to find pace during the year, with a best result of fourth for Caruso at Hidden Valley, while Prémat struggled for most of the season. Prémat showed good pace at the Sydney 500, however, before retiring from the Saturday race with heat exhaustion. He was unable to take part in the Sunday race and was replaced by Development Series champion Scott McLaughlin. For 2013, McLaughlin was signed to drive for the team full-time alongside Prémat, with Caruso moving to
Nissan Motorsport , abbreviated as Nismo, is a division of Nissan Motorsports & Customizing focused in motorsport and performance-oriented car models for Nissan. Nismo was initially a company, , formed in 1984 as a result of a merger of two motorsport departme ...
. Under the new New Generation V8 Supercar regulations, the team performed strongly at the start of the year with Prémat and McLaughlin finishing fourth and sixth respectively in the first race of the season at the
Clipsal 500 The Adelaide 500 (also known as the VALO Adelaide 500 for sponsorship reasons) is an annual motor racing event for Supercars held on the streets of the east end of Adelaide, South Australia between 1999 to 2020 and again from 2022. It is sometim ...
. McLaughlin went on to finish in the top ten in the first six races, becoming the youngest ever V8 Supercar race winner when he took victory at Pukekohe. However, his fortunes changed following this victory, only taking three top ten finishes in the next fifteen races. Queensland Raceway saw a return to form, with McLaughlin taking a second place and a victory. He was on track for another podium in the final race before a tyre failure dropped him down the field. Both cars finished in the top ten at the
Sandown 500 The Sandown 500 (formally known as the Penrite Oil Sandown 500) is an annual endurance motor race which is staged at the Sandown Raceway, near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from 1964. The event's name, distance – and the category of cars co ...
, with McLaughlin and Jack Perkins finishing eighth and Prémat and Greg Ritter finishing tenth. McLaughlin finished the year tenth in the points standings while Prémat finished in nineteenth.


Volvo

In June 2013 it had been announced that the team would switch to running the Volvo S60 for the 2014 season, in a collaboration with Volvo Cars and
Polestar Racing Cyan Racing is the official motorsport partner to Geely Group Motorsport, formerly the Volvo factory auto racing team, and runs the FIA WTCR programme for Lynk & Co, based in Gothenburg, Sweden. The team’s current drivers are Thed Björk, Yv ...
. As a result of the Swedish manufacturer's involvement, Prémat was dropped in favour of Swedish driver
Robert Dahlgren Robert Dahlgren (born 1 December 1979 in Skellefteå) is a Swedish auto racing driver who currently competes for the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship. He previously competed in Australia and New Zealand for a single season in the V8 Superca ...
. While Dahlgren largely struggled, McLaughlin achieved considerable success, winning four races and the
2014 Plus Fitness Phillip Island 400 The 2014 Plus Fitness Phillip Island 400 was a motor race meeting for the Australian sedan-based V8 Supercars. It was the thirteenth and penultimate event of the 2014 International V8 Supercars Championship. It was held on the weekend of 14–16 ...
event on the way to finishing fifth in the championship. In 2015, the second car was driven by David Wall and in 2016 by James Moffat. In 2015, Polestar was split in half and GRM no longer had an association with the Polestar brand as of 2016. In 2016 the team however did feature branding of
Cyan Racing Cyan Racing is the official motorsport partner to Geely Group Motorsport, formerly the Volvo factory auto racing team, and runs the FIA WTCR programme for Lynk & Co, based in Gothenburg, Sweden. The team’s current drivers are Thed Björk, Yv ...
, the new name for the former racing arm of Polestar, and Volvo Dealer Racing. It was then announced that the team's association with Volvo would end at the conclusion of the 2016 season, with the cars and engines to be returned to Sweden. On track, after a winless 2015 the team returned to form at the 2016 WD-40 Phillip Island SuperSprint with McLaughlin winning both races over the weekend, and ultimately finishing 3rd in the drivers' championship.


Return to Holden

In January 2017, it was announced that the team would return to running Holden Commodores, after Volvo withdrew from the series. Garth Tander, who was with the team from 1998 to 2004, returned to the team to replace Scott McLaughlin, who left the team to join
DJR Team Penske Dick Johnson Racing (formerly DJR Team Penske), is Australia's oldest motor racing team competing in the Supercars Championship. The team currently fields the #11 and #17 Ford Mustang GTs for Anton de Pasquale and Will Davison respectiv ...
. The team only scored a single podium at Phillip Island, with Tander, as well as adding James Golding as a wildcard throughout the year. Moffat left the team at the end of 2017 and was replaced by Golding. In 2018, they ran ZB Commodores, replacing the preceding VF Commodores. The team also scored a single podium at Melbourne, with Tander. At the end of the 2018 season, their main sponsor, Wilson Security, withdrew sponsorship and was replaced with Boost Mobile. Garth Tander was also dropped from the team and was replaced with Richie Stanaway. No podiums came from the team as Stanaway was forced to withdraw from the last race at Winton to Queensland Raceway, due to a pre-existing neck injury sustained in a Formula 3 accident years ago, with Chris Pither for Winton and Darwin while Michael Caruso made a one-off return to the team at Queensland Raceway.


Withdrawal from Supercars

In mid October 2019, Garry Rogers announced that they won't be returning to the Supercars grid for the 2020 season, citing escalating costs of competing and a model that required them to purchase parts rather than develop them as the reasons for his decision to withdraw from the series. At the end of the season, Richie Stanaway announced his retirement from motorsport altogether and James Golding went to Charlie Schwerkolt Racing for the Enduro Cup.


Results


Car No. 33 results


Car No. 34 results


TCR Australia

In 2019, the team entered into the
TCR Australia Touring Car Series The TCR Australia Touring Car Series is a touring car racing series based in Australia. The series is run as part of the Shannons Nationals series. Background The TCR Touring Car formula, introduced in 2014, is based on four or five door fron ...
, entering in a single Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce and two Renault Mégane R.S'. Jimmy Vernon with withdrawn halfway through the series and was replaced with Jordan Cox for the remainder of the series. The team claimed seven podiums from Cox, James Moffat and Chris Pither. In 2020, Renault increased sponsorship with the team, to be renamed to Renault Sport GRM and add a third car into the main team, with James Moffat and Dylan O'Keeffe the confirmed drivers. They will also increase their presence through the series as GRM Customer Racing, with an Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce and a Peuegot 308 driven by Jordan Cox and Jason Bargwanna respectively, and Team Valvoline GRM, who also runs with an Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce and a Peuegot 308 driven by Michael Caruso and Aaron Cameron respectively.


Australian Touring Car Championship and Supercar drivers

The following is a list of drivers who have driven for the team in the Australian Touring Car Championship and Supercars, in order of their first appearance. Drivers who only drove for the team on a part-time basis are listed in italics. *
Steven Richards Steven James Richards (born 11 July 1972) is a New Zealand-Australian racing driver, currently competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship. Richards, the son of seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Jim Richards, is himself a five-t ...
(1996–98) * ''
Jason Bright Jason Bright (born 7 March 1973) is a retired Australian racing driver who competed in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. He drove the No. 56 Ford FG X Falcon for Britek Motorsport, a satellite team of Prodrive Racing Australia, be ...
'' (1997) *
Jason Bargwanna Jason Eric Bargwanna (born 26 April, 1971) is an Australian motor racing driver. Best known as a Supercars Championship competitor, Bargwanna raced in the series for 25 years, the pinnacle of which was winning, with Garth Tander, the 2000 Bathu ...
(1998–2002) *
Garth Tander Garth Tander (born 31 March 1977) is a multiple-championship winning Australian motor racing driver competing in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship's Enduro Cup, co-driving the No. 97 Holden ZB Commodore for Triple Eight Race Engineer ...
(1998–2004, 2017–18) * ''
Cameron McLean Cameron McLean (born 14 December 1967) is an Australian former racing driver. Career McLean began racing at age 14 in karts. He came to prominence when he won the 1995 Australian Sports Sedan Championship in a BMW M3. McLean won the 1997 ...
'' (1998, 2006–07) * ''
Greg Ritter Greg Ritter (born 20 February 1973, in Victoria) is an Australian racing driver. He was the winner of the 1999 Australian Formula Ford Championship The 1999 Australian Formula Ford Championship was an Australian motor racing competition for ...
'' (1999–2000, 2006–14) * ''
Matthew Coleman Matthew Coleman (born 8 June 1973) is a former Australian racing car driver. He competed in various Australian championships including the Australian Super Touring Championship, the Australian GT Production Car Championship, the Australian Nat ...
'' (1999) * '' Steve Owen'' (1999) * '' Tim Leahey'' (2000) * ''
Paul Dumbrell Paul Dumbrell (born 1 September 1982) is an Australian business executive and retired racing driver. Racing history Junior career Son of former racing driver Garry Dumbrell, Paul Dumbrell started racing in karts in 1996 and by the end of 1997 D ...
'' (2001) * '' Leanne Ferrier'' (2001) *
Jamie Whincup Jamie Whincup (born 6 February 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver competing in the Supercars Championship. He currently is team principal for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He has driven the No. 88 Holden Commodore (ZB), Holden Z ...
(2002–03) * ''
Max Dumesny Max Dumesny (born 12 July 1959, in Nullawarre, Victoria) is an Australian professional Sprintcar driver. Dumesny was born and raised in Victoria but has resided in Nelson, New South Wales since the mid-1990s, although his Sprintcar carries the ...
'' (2002) * ''
Mark Noske Mark Noske (born 25 July 1975) is a former Australian racing car driver. He has scored round wins in various Australian championships including the Australian Drivers' Championship, the Australian Formula Ford Championship and the Australian N ...
'' (2002) * ''
Nathan Pretty Nathan Pretty (born 7 July 1973) is an Australian racecar driver. Career He first rose to prominence racing AUSCAR Superspeedway sedans (a Holden Commodore), becoming rookie of the year in his initial season in 1994. His family based race tea ...
'' (2003–04) * '' Allen Simonsen'' (2003–04) *
Cameron McConville Cameron 'Conkers' McConville (born 22 January 1974) is an Australian racing driver and motorsport celebrity. While retired from full-time competition, McConville still races occasionally and is an in-demand endurance event co-driver. McConville ...
(2004–05) * Andrew Jones (2005) *
Dean Canto Dean Justin Canto (born 24 September 1980) is a multiple-championship winning Australian motor racing driver. Best noted as a Supercars driver, Canto was the inaugural winner of the second-tier V8 Supercar development series in 2000, and the fir ...
(2005–07) *
Lee Holdsworth Lee Holdsworth (born 2 February 1983) is a semi-retired Australian racing driver. He won the 2021 Bathurst 1000 alongside Chaz Mostert and finished his full-time career after the 2022 season, after nearly two decades of racing. He plans to retur ...
(2005–11) * ''
Phillip Scifleet Phillip Scifleet, born 4 May 1977, is an Australian race driver. Starting in Karts in 1993 winning the Australian Formula A Series in 1994 before moving up into the cars for the Australian Suzuki GTi Cup in 1995. Then he moved into Formula Ford ...
'' (2005–06) * Michael Caruso (2008–12, 2019) * '' Steven Ellery'' (2008) * ''
David Besnard David Besnard, (born 21 January 1977 in Sydney, Australia) is a retired professional racing driver. Career history Starting in karts in 1991, he quickly proceeded into Formula Ford in 1995. After initial success, he had a major accident at Easte ...
'' (2009–10) * ''
Patrick Long __NOTOC__ Patrick Long (born July 28, 1981) is a professional racing driver, one of 18 Porsche factory racing drivers, and the only American to hold that distinction. Racing career Sports car racing Following a successful career in karts and th ...
'' (2010) * ''
Marcus Marshall Marcus Marshall (born 25 November 1978) is a former Champ Car driver from Australia. Biography He began racing in British Formula Three, where he was generally a running outside the top ten, but took a hard-fought win in a wet race. He contest ...
'' (2011) * ''
Simon Pagenaud Simon Pagenaud (born 18 May 1984) is a French professional racing driver. He is contracted to drive the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in the IndyCar Series. After a successful career in sports car racing that saw him taking the top class ...
'' (2011) * ''
Augusto Farfus Augusto Farfus Jr. (born 3 September 1983) is a Brazilian professional racing driver, and BMW Motorsport works driver. He lives in Monaco. Early years Born in Curitiba, Farfus first tasted racing in minibike races and won the local championshi ...
'' (2011) *
Alexandre Prémat Alexandre Prémat (born 5 November 1982) is a French racing driver. He won the Pirtek Enduro Cup for Triple Eight Race Engineering alongside Shane van Gisbergen in 2016. He also won the 2019 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 with Scott McLaughlin, d ...
(2012–15) * '' Jack Perkins'' (2012–13) * ''
Ricky Taylor Ricky Taylor (born August 3, 1989) is an American racing driver, most notably in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. His career highlights include an IMSA Series Championship in 2017, as well as marquee wins at the Daytona 24, 12 Hours o ...
'' (2012) * ''
James Hinchcliffe James Douglas Meredith Hinchcliffe (born December 5, 1986) is a Canadian race car driver and commentator best known for competing in the IndyCar Series. Hinchcliffe won six races for Andretti Autosport and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. In 2015, ...
'' (2012) *
Scott McLaughlin Scott Thomas McLaughlin (; born 10 June 1993) is a New Zealand racing driver. He currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 3 Dallara-Chevrolet for Team Penske. He previously raced in the Supercars Championship, in which he won ...
(2012–16) *
Robert Dahlgren Robert Dahlgren (born 1 December 1979 in Skellefteå) is a Swedish auto racing driver who currently competes for the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship. He previously competed in Australia and New Zealand for a single season in the V8 Superca ...
(2014) * David Wall (2015–16) * ''
Chris Pither Chris Pither (born 3 December 1986) is a New Zealand professional racing driver, currently competing in the Supercars Championship driving the No. 22 Holden ZB Commodore for PremiAir Racing. Pither has won eight national championships inclu ...
'' (2015, 2018–19) * James Moffat (2016–17) * James Golding (2016–19) * ''
Richard Muscat Richard Muscat (born 9 July 1992) is an Australian racing driver currently co-driving in the Pirtek Enduro Cup for Garry Rogers Motorsport, alongside James Golding. He won the Australian GT Championship The Australian GT Championship is ...
'' (2017–19) *
Richie Stanaway Richie Stanaway (born 24 November 1991) is a racing car driver from New Zealand. Career New Zealand Born in Tauranga, Stanaway was originally from a motocross background, before making the switch to speedway at the age of twelve. Following tha ...
(2019) * ''
Dylan O'Keeffe Dylan O'Keeffe (born 4 February 1998) is an Australian racing driver currently competing in the TCR Australia Touring Car Series with Garry Rogers Motorsport, driving the No. 8 Peugeot 308. Biography O'Keeffe started his career in karting b ...
'' (2019) * ''
Tyler Everingham Tyler Everingham (born 7 January 2001) is a racing driver from Australia. He currently competes in the Super2 Series The Dunlop Super2 Series (formerly known as Dunlop Series, Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series, HPDC V8 Supercars Series, Konica Min ...
'' (2020) * ''
Jayden Ojeda Jayden Ojeda (born 31 July 1999) is an Australian racing driver from Sydney, Australia. He is currently competing in the Super2 Series, Dunlop Super2 Series with MW Motorsport, driving the No. 31 Nissan Altima, Nissan Altima L33.Herrero, D. (20 ...
'' (2020)


Super2 drivers

The following is a list of drivers who have driven for the team in the Super2, in order of their first appearance. Drivers who only drove for the team on a part-time basis are listed in italics. * Leanne Ferrier (2001) * James Golding () * ''
Chelsea Angelo Chelsea Angelo (born 2 June 1996, in Melbourne) is a racing driver from Australia. She currently competes in TCR Australia having previously contested the V8 Supercars Development Series. She attempted to qualify for the 2019 W Series The ...
'' () *
Richard Muscat Richard Muscat (born 9 July 1992) is an Australian racing driver currently co-driving in the Pirtek Enduro Cup for Garry Rogers Motorsport, alongside James Golding. He won the Australian GT Championship The Australian GT Championship is ...
(–17) * Mason Barbera (2017–19) *
Chris Pither Chris Pither (born 3 December 1986) is a New Zealand professional racing driver, currently competing in the Supercars Championship driving the No. 22 Holden ZB Commodore for PremiAir Racing. Pither has won eight national championships inclu ...
(2018) *
Dylan O'Keeffe Dylan O'Keeffe (born 4 February 1998) is an Australian racing driver currently competing in the TCR Australia Touring Car Series with Garry Rogers Motorsport, driving the No. 8 Peugeot 308. Biography O'Keeffe started his career in karting b ...
(2019)


TCR Australia drivers

The following is a list of drivers who have driven for the team in the TCR Australia, in order of their first appearance. Drivers who only drove for the team on a part-time basis are listed in italics. * ''Jimmy Vernon'' (2019) * Jordan Cox (2019–present) *
Chris Pither Chris Pither (born 3 December 1986) is a New Zealand professional racing driver, currently competing in the Supercars Championship driving the No. 22 Holden ZB Commodore for PremiAir Racing. Pither has won eight national championships inclu ...
(2019) * James Moffat (2019–present) * Michael Caruso (2021) *
Aaron Cameron Aaron Cameron (born 27 January 2000) is an Australian racing driver, competing in the TCR Australia Series in the No. 18 Peugeot 308 TCR for Team Valvoline GRM. Early career Cameron's racing career began in karting in his home state of Vi ...
(2021–present) *
Dylan O'Keeffe Dylan O'Keeffe (born 4 February 1998) is an Australian racing driver currently competing in the TCR Australia Touring Car Series with Garry Rogers Motorsport, driving the No. 8 Peugeot 308. Biography O'Keeffe started his career in karting b ...
(2021) * Kody Garland (2022)


Bathurst 24 Hour and Nations Cup

In 2002 Holden Motorsport was looking at running a
Holden Monaro The Holden Monaro ( ) is a rear-wheel drive coupé manufactured by General Motors Holden in Australia from 1968 to 1975 and later reintroduced from 2001 to 2005. It was also manufactured as a 4-door sedan from 1973 to 1977. Three generations of ...
in the
Bathurst 24 Hour The Bathurst 24 Hour was an endurance race for GT and production cars held at the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales in 2002 and 2003. Only two races were held before the collapse of the management organisation PROCAR. Both ...
endurance sports car race against the likes of the
Lamborghini Diablo GTR The Lamborghini Diablo is a high-performance mid-engine sports car built by Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini between 1990 and 2001. It is the first production Lamborghini capable of attaining a top speed in excess of . After the end ...
, Ferrari 360 N-GT, Chrysler Viper ACR and
Porsche 911 GT3 The Porsche 911 GT3 is a high-performance homologation model of the Porsche 911 sports car. It is a line of high-performance models, which began with the 1973 911 Carrera RS. The GT3 has had a successful racing career in the one-make national ...
. After the
Holden Racing Team Walkinshaw Andretti United is an Australian motor racing team based in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton. The team currently fields two Holden ZB Commodores in the Supercars Championship for Nick Percat and Chaz Mostert, along with a Porsche 91 ...
reportedly turned down the job of building the Monaro, GRM accepted the job of building the car as well as running it. The car ran a GRM developed version of the Chevrolet Corvette C5-R's 7.0 litre ( 427 cui) motor which had taken numerous class wins in the
24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...
. The GRM engines were built by the team's engine builder Mike Excel. The car became known as the
Holden Monaro 427C The Holden Monaro 427C was an Australian built and designed GT style race car based on the Holden Monaro CV8 road car. The car ran in the Procar Australia-run Australian Nations Cup Championship and at the short-lived Bathurst 24 Hour race a ...
. In its race debut, the 2002 Bathurst 24 Hour, Tander qualified the bright yellow #427 car (nicknamed the "Nuclear banana") in second place behind the N-GT Ferrari F360 driven by Brad Jones. After taking the lead from the John Bowe driven Ferrari at the start, the car suffered an early flat tyre which dropped it to second behind the Cirtek Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 of
David Brabham David Brabham (born 5 September 1965) is an Australian professional racing driver and one of the most successful and experienced specialists in sports car racing. He has won three international Sports Car series and is one of four Australians t ...
, while the Ferrari had already suffered the first of two engine failures early on and was out of contention. Then, just a few hours into the race, the entire fuel cell of the Monaro needed to be replaced, dropping the car 13 laps behind the Porsche. The team overcame the fuel cell problem as well as the car becoming jammed between gears just before sunrise after
Nathan Pretty Nathan Pretty (born 7 July 1973) is an Australian racecar driver. Career He first rose to prominence racing AUSCAR Superspeedway sedans (a Holden Commodore), becoming rookie of the year in his initial season in 1994. His family based race tea ...
was hit by the BMW 318i of Debbie Chapman in The Chase, which also caused damage to the driver's side door. The Monaro spun and stalled, jamming the gearbox, forcing Pretty to get out and rock the car back and forth to clear the problem, a task made difficult by the Monaro's
Sequential transmission Sequential transmission may refer to: * Automated manual transmission, a type of mechanical power transmission; which is based on a conventional manual transmission, but is controlled by a computer, and can operate fully automatically. * Semi-auto ...
. By the 18-hour mark the GRM entry had clawed its way back to second place, only three laps behind the lead. The Porsche struck trouble with a broken half-shaft, causing the car to pit for four laps. The GRM Monaro re-took the lead, despite the Monaro pitting at the same time as the Porsche to replace rear suspension bolts that had broken away from the chassis. When the Porsche returned to the track,
Allan Grice Allan Maxwell Grice (born 21 October 1942), known to motor-racing fans as "Gricey", is an Australian former racing driver and politician, most famous for twice winning the prestigious Bathurst 1000 (1986 and 1990), and as a privateer driver of ...
, told to drive as fast as possible, hit the wall on the top of the mountain while attempting to lap the Mosler MT900R driven by Mark Pashley which broke the Porsche's rear suspension and took it out of contention. Upon its return to the track Darren Palmer put the car into the wall at Griffin's Bend with no steering, a legacy of the Grice crash. The Monaro, driven by Tander, Pretty,
Steven Richards Steven James Richards (born 11 July 1972) is a New Zealand-Australian racing driver, currently competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship. Richards, the son of seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Jim Richards, is himself a five-t ...
and
Cameron McConville Cameron 'Conkers' McConville (born 22 January 1974) is an Australian racing driver and motorsport celebrity. While retired from full-time competition, McConville still races occasionally and is an in-demand endurance event co-driver. McConville ...
, ran in the lead for the last five hours to win the race by 24 laps from the British entered Mosler of
Martin Short Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, and writer. He has received various awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2019 Short became an Officer of the Order of Canada. He ...
. In the race, Tander's fastest race lap of 2:14.3267 was actually quicker than Brad Jones' pole time of 2:15.0742. In 2003 GRM built a second car for the legendary touring car driver Peter Brock. It was this second car which won the 2003 Bathurst 24 Hour with
Jason Bright Jason Bright (born 7 March 1973) is a retired Australian racing driver who competed in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. He drove the No. 56 Ford FG X Falcon for Britek Motorsport, a satellite team of Prodrive Racing Australia, be ...
, Todd Kelly and Greg Murphy sharing the driving with Brock. The winning car from 2002, driven by the same four drivers as the previous year, finished second, less than one second behind after 24 hours of racing. With seven minutes to go in the race, and with the two Monaros running nose to tail, Garry Rogers gave Murphy and Tander permission to race each other to the finish, with orders to respect the work put into the event by the team and not to take each other out. Tander was all over Murphy in the final four laps of the race and set the race's fastest lap of 2:14.489 with just three laps to go, while Murphy's corresponding lap time was a 2:14.499, which was his car's fastest lap of the race. Tander's last chance at snatching victory from Murphy with a last lap lunge into Murray's Corner was thwarted due to yellow flags on the last lap forcing him to stay behind and finish second. For Brock, the 2003 Bathurst 24 Hour would be his last win at Mount Panorama, and would be seen by some (including himself) as his tenth Bathurst win, despite the race not being the traditional Bathurst 1000 where he had scored his nine other wins dating back to 1972 Hardie-Ferodo 500, 1972. After the teams 1-2 finish in the 2003 Bathurst 24 Hour, Garry Rogers said in an interview with Australian Muscle Car (AMC) Magazine that with the restrictions that PROCAR forced the team to have on the 7.0 litre V8s, such as induction and rev limits, he believed the cars would actually have been faster using the smaller Gen III production based engine which would have been almost restriction free, as seen with the Mosler MT900R which used the 5.7 litre motor. He also refuted that having a professional team such as GRM made the car unbeatable at Bathurst, stating that had anyone built a V10 Viper to at least the same standards and had professional drivers like the Monaros instead of part-timers and gentlemen drivers, then "''nobody would have seen which way they went''", as during the Nations Cup Championship, Greg Crick's privately entered Viper had shown on a small budget that it was capable of beating the Monaros. Ten years later, in a late 2013 interview with AMC to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the 2003 Bathurst 24 Hour and GRM's switch from Holden to Volvo in 2014, Rogers proclaimed that winning the two Bathurst 24 Hour races and finishing 1–2 in 2003 was the crowning achievement for his team during their 25 years running Holdens which spanned from 1988 until 2013. Former GRM driver and 2002 Bathurst 24 Hour winner Garth Tander also told in the article that while many people were surprised that the Monaros were five seconds slower around the Mount Panorama Circuit than the V8 Supercars were at the time, especially given that the Monaros ran the 7.0 litre engines while the V8 Supercars were restricted to 5.0 litre V8s, the Monaro weighed in at over 1,600 kilograms, nearly 300 kg heavier than a V8 Supercar. Tander also said that the top speed of the Monaros on Conrod Straight was only around , compared to the V8s which were reaching just under , though he did point out that the Monaros were two seconds faster from Griffin's Bend to McPhillamy Park. The 2002 Bathurst 24 Hour race-winning Monaro currently resides at the National Motor Racing Museum, located at Mount Panorama in Bathurst. The 2003 Bathurst 24 Hour winner is currently owned by a historic car racing enthusiast, the third Monaro driven by James Brock was placed under auction on 20 February 2020.


References

*


External links


The Garry Rogers Motorsport website
{{Melbourne Sports Teams Supercars Championship teams Australian auto racing teams Sports teams in Victoria (Australia) Australian racecar constructors Renault in motorsport