BRT expands to two cars from 2024
The Blanchard Racing Team (BRT) will expand to two cars for the 2024 Supercars Championship after acquiring a second Teams Racing Charter (TRC).
BRT has campaigned as a single-car outfit since the beginning of the 2021 season, and has long had ambitions to operate as a two-car team in the main game.
It was confirmed Friday that BRT has acquired a TRC from Tickford Racing, which will downscale from four to two cars for the 2024 season.
Expansion has been key to the team’s 2023 plans, with the Box Hill squad readying to run a second car in this year’s enduros at Sandown and Bathurst.
The team has built a second chassis, BRT002, which will be run as a wildcard by Jake Kostecki and rookie Aaron Love.
Love is also racing a BRT Ford Mustang in the Dunlop Series, with the squad joining Super2 this year.
The wildcard and Super2 program will help BRT carry over critical knowledge into 2024, with the team to operate a pit boom for both cars at this year’s enduros.
Friday's news regarding BRT and Tickford adds more intrigue into the evolving silly season. Two Tickford drivers will be on the move, with BRT set to add at least one new driver to the fold.
Tickford veteran James Courtney has already been linked to BRT, with Love also in the frame to graduate to the main game.
Todd Hazelwood currently drives BRT's full-time, CoolDrive-backed Mustang in the Repco Supercars Championship, having joined from Matt Stone Racing.
2017 Super2 champion Hazelwood is 20th in the standings after eight rounds and 22 starts, with a best of fourth coming at the Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint.
For BRT Co-Principal Tim Blanchard, Friday’s news is the latest chapter in a five-year plan for the team.
“We are incredibly excited to be expanding BRT into a two-car team for the 2024 season,” said Blanchard, who will race with Hazelwood in the 2023 enduros.
“Expansion was always part of our five-year plan when we started the team, and after taking steps in that direction this year with the wildcard and Super2 programs, we feel the timing is ideal.
“Starting as a one-car team was right for us initially, but we are now in the position where we need two cars' worth of data for development purposes, and to also expand the business to create greater depth in staffing and other resources.
“This in turn, will ensure BRT will become even more competitive and sustainable moving forwards.
“We will announce drivers, sponsors, and other key components of the expansion in the coming weeks, but we are well advanced in the preparation for 2024 while still focussed on finishing this year strongly.”
BRT will test its two cars next week ahead of the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 on September 15-17, before the Repco Bathurst 1000 on October 5-8.
