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Motorsport
Motorsport
Sport
Andrew van Leeuwen

Grove responds to Reynolds speculation

As revealed by Motorsport.com earlier today, Reynolds and Grove Racing have both become somewhat unexpected silly season players.

The off-contract driver was long expected to remain at Grove Racing beyond this season, however is now firmly in the frame for a switch to Team 18 for 2024.

Responding to that speculation, Grove Racing owner Stephen Grove stopped short of confirming that a change to his line-up is coming.

However he did concede that there are no guarantees that Reynolds will be in the garage alongside rookie Matt Payne next season, and that the driver market is being assessed.

"Matty has a long-term contract for us, so that's fine," he said.

"Right at the moment we're going just through an assessment process. We do that prior to determining who should and shouldn't drive our cars. We're going through process now.

"For us, we're pretty focussed that, down the track at some point in time, we want to be championship contenders. And we need to get the right people to make that happen.

"If it's the current drivers, it's the current drivers. If it's not, well it's not."

Grove added that whoever ends up in the #26 Mustang next year will be on a mid to long-term deal, as he looks to emulate the consistency seen by the powerhouse Supercars teams in their line-ups.

"I always thought Triple Eight has done such a great job in their ability to have drivers long term. And even DJR now with their current drivers," he said.

"Consistency is really important, so the next contract will probably be more mid to long term, whichever way we go."

The Reynolds/Team 18 link comes amid an energetic driver market.

Fabian Coulthard is now considered the favourite to end up at Walkinshaw Andretti United alongside Chaz Mostert.

The Kiwi is currently an enduro driver at WAU, having joined the team last year after losing his full-time ride when Peter Xiberras bought Team Sydney.

Jamie Whincup, meanwhile, is hoping to know if Triple Eight is in the market for a new driver or not within the next fortnight.

That's the soft deadline for in-contract Shane van Gisbergen to decide if he wants to pursue a full-time NASCAR drive next season.

Cam Waters is set to stay at Tickford Racing, however whether he is part of a two-car, or four-car, Tickford line-up is yet to be seen.

Should Tickford scale back, Blanchard Racing Team would likely scale up to two cars, creating a vacancy there.

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