SILLY SEASON SHOCK: REYNOLDS COULD BE ON THE MOVE

Silly Season Shock: David Reynolds could be on the move – Photo: InSyde Media

Several drivers are looking to make moves as the delayed Supercars ‘silly season’ begins in earnest.

By MARK FOGARTY

The biggest shock could be a wholesale change at Erebus Motorsport, with strong suggestions that David Reynolds could follow Anton De Pasquale out the door.

Following the completion of the COVID-disrupted series, speculation is ramping up about who is going where in 2021.

Fabian Coulthard, Reynolds, Rick Kelly and Macauley Jones are among those whose futures are unclear or uncertain.

An all-new line-up at Dick Johnson Racing following Roger Penske’s withdrawal will trigger changes elsewhere.

With De Pasquale taking over from Scott McLaughlin and Will Davison replacing Coulthard, there will be a domino effect in the driver market

Coulthard has been linked with a return to Brad Jones Racing, which is also looking to acquire a REC to replace the departing Blanchard family CoolDrive entry.

That change, in turn, puts Jones Jnr’s drive in doubt.

Erebus Motorsport will promote Will Brown to fill De Pasquale’s seat, but may also need to replace Reynolds if persistent scuttlebutt is correct.

Despite Reynolds’ celebrated 10-year deal with super-rich team owner Betty Klimenko, there has been conjecture about his future for some time.

The latest suggestion is that he will depart, with the possibility of Penrite following him.

Kelly Racing has replaced BJR as his preferred alternative.

It is no secret in Supercars circles that Reynolds doesn’t enjoy team boss Barry Ryan’s bombastic style of management.

Their clash is blamed for Reynolds’ form slump, aggravated by the absence for most of the season of his trusted race engineer and team technical guru Alistair McVean.

His form noticeably lifted at Bathurst with the return of McVean, although he was still outperformed by De Pasquale.

Ryan is famously nonchalant about losing De Pasquale and is ambivalent about Reynolds given their friction.

Along with Brown, Erebus also has Brodie Kostecki waiting in the wings. Kostecki made his mark at Bathurst by trenchantly holding off stars, including Jamie Whincup.

His resistance forced the seven-time champion into a race-ending crash.

AUTO ACTION understands that Reynolds would prefer to stay, enjoying Klimenko’s tolerance of his eccentricities, but has become increasingly frustrated by her reluctance to rein in Ryan

Kelly Racing is emerging as a possible escape.

That would be interesting as he left the team under a cloud after one season at the end of 2011, joining Ford Performance Racing (now Tickford Racing) after a bitter legal battle. He subsequently fell out with them, moving to Erebus in 2016.

Rumours that he is looking at a return to Kelly Racing calls into question the future of team co-owner Rick Kelly.

While he may be considering retirement from fulltime racing after a yet another frustrating season, Kelly is also said to be looking at taking his Castrol backing elsewhere.

STOP PRESS: Rick Kelly announces Supercars retirement.

A possible destination is Tickford, which would further confuse the Ford team’s possible line-ups.

It is expected the Blanchards will move their REC from BJR to Tickford, running as a customer car entry.

It will underpin the continuance of James Courtney’s Boost Mobile-backed Mustang, with the Blanchards’ CoolDrive sponsorship appearing elsewhere – or across – the Tickford Racing group.

The Blanchard REC will replace Phil Munday’s entry, which has been bought by BJR in replacement to retain the Albury team’s four-car complement.

It is still not out of the question that the Blanchards will set up their own single-car Mustang team in Melbourne, with Coulthard moving there.

Otherwise, CoolDrive’s move and Coulthard’s availability puts Macauley Jones’ position in jeopardy. BJR will continue to run Jack Smith under his family’s SCT-backed REC.

Add Rick Kelly to the possible Tickford mix – even as a co-driver – and the Campbellfield squad’s composition could be changed.

Cam Waters and Monster Energy are confirmed, but Jack Le Brocq’s Supercheap Auto backing is up in the air.

Le Brocq is safe, but if Supercheap doesn’t continue as it sulks about losing the Bathurst 1000 to rival Repco, Lee Holdsworth could be vulnerable.

The Truck Assist/Isuzu backing of Holdsworth’s Mustang was actually brought to Tickford by Le Brocq and would be expected to switch to him if Supercheap pulled out.

Tickford in its previous FPR and Prodrive Racing Australia guises has a long and strong history with Castrol, so a Rick Kelly insertion with the oil company’s support is not out of the question commercially

If Kelly retires from full-time racing, the line-up at Tickford would remain Waters, Le Brocq, Holdsworth and Courtney.

Holdsworth, who has been a surprise standout performer since his straight swap with Mark Winterbottom from Team 18 last year, is one of several holding his breath as the delayed ‘silly season’ shakes out.

Also to be accommodated is The Bottle-O, which is looking for a return after being locked out by other sponsors’ prohibition of an association with alcohol-related sponsorship.

The big winner of the post-season upheaval is Will Davison, who returns to DJR after losing his full-time drive in Phil Munday’s Tickford-run Mustang due to the coronavirus crisis

Davo is a favourite of new DJR owner Ryan Story, who remembers the Gold Coast-based Melburnian’s race-winning time with the team from 2006-2008 and his two subsequent Bathurst wins with HRT and TEKNO.

He is seen as a strong, experienced pair of hands to support future superstar De Pasquale.

Davo has ousted DJRTP stalwart Coulthard because Australian management lost confidence in the Britain-born Kiwi.

He was unable to challenge compatriot Scott McLaughlin, undermining the team’s long-term faith.

Had Penske stayed, Coulthard would have been secure as he was regarded by the Americans as an impeccably groomed representative that the organisation likes.

He is a race-winner who shouldn’t have trouble finding a place with an ambitious secondary team or as a super-enduro co-driver.

Coulthard and regular co-driver Tony D’Alberto, despite their fighting fourth at Bathurst, may not be in the frame for DJR next year.

McLaughlin will return from the USA for at least the Bathurst 1000, possibly partnered by Team Penske’s Australian IndyCar star Will Power.

Tim Slade looks to be out of the running as he is targeting a return to full-time racing with Matt Stone Racing, which is looking to expand to three cars.

Slade has the support of fellow South Australian REC owner James Rosenberg, who owns one of MSR’s entries.

Davison’s partner in the second Shell V-Power Racing Mustang is up for grabs.

For more of the latest Supercars news pick up the current issue of Auto Action. Also make sure you follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or our weekly email newsletter for all the latest updates between issues.