Popular motorsport team Grove Racing will make the swap to Mercedes for the upcoming Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS, having campaigned Porsches in recent years.
The father-son duo will make their full-time return to the growing Australian GT series, which kicks off at the Shannons SpeedSeries’ Race Phillip Island in April.
Purchase tickets to Race Phillip Island via motorsporttickets.com.au
In addition to their domestic campaign, they will also be juggling an extensive international schedule that includes events Sepang, Portimão, Indianapolis and Yas Marina.
Both of the team’s local and international GT charges will utilise the engineering and technical resources from its Supercars outfit Penrite Racing, as well as receiving support from Earl Bamber Motorsport at the circuits.
Entering their 2024 season as a strong bronze and silver credentialed combination, the duo have enjoyed considerable success over the years together, and Brenton was excited to continue that partnership in 2024.
“We’re really excited to do some domestic racing, which has been rare over the past few years,” Brenton said.
“We haven’t ever done a full season in GT World Challenge Australia, however after a lot of the changes that have been announced over Christmas and knowing how SRO work, we couldn’t help but commit to the full season. The calendar and championship is shaping up to be super exciting.
“We’re utilising the race engineers from our Supercar program throughout the season, so it’s really exciting to grow Grove Racing’s presence further. We’ve competed in GT for many years now, however it’s the first time that the Supercar operation has had any real involvement. We’re taking Alistair McVean and Jack Bell to our overseas races this year too, so it’s exciting to grow the engineering knowledge of Grove Racing in another discipline.
“From what we’ve seen it appears the field is quite competitive. This is another bonus as we want to be racing the best. The better the field, the bigger the show and that’s important during this growth period of GT racing in Australia.”
Brenton’s father Stephen was enjoying his time behind the wheel of the team’s new Mercedes AMG.
“I really love the car. It’s great to drive and to have one here in the Australian championship and one for our overseas races is super exciting,” Stephen said.
“Compared to the Porsche, the speed in the Mercedes comes more from its horsepower. Being a front engined car, it also gives you a lot of confidence with all of the weight at the front. The Porsche is more nervous in the rear, so for an AM driver, it makes me feel very confident.
“Brenton and I have raced together for so long, and it’s fantastic that we can continue to do that amongst a very competitive local field.
“Some of the other Pro-Am cars have gold or platinum rated drivers, usually drivers from Supercars or overseas imports. That puts a lot of responsibility on Brenton and myself, so it just means we need to work hard.
“We’ll see how we go, but I’m looking forward to doing it again in a new car.”
The Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS will begin its 2024 season at Race Phillip Island and will join the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series, Trico Trans Am, Monochrome GT4 Australia, Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia and the Workhorse Radical Cup Australia at the Shannons SpeedSeries event.
Race Phillip Island takes place at the famous Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on 12-14 April.
