PremiAir, Blanchard reveal silly season hints

We now know when to expect some silly season movements ahead of the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship, with Tim Blanchard and Peter Xiberras outlining announcement timelines for their respective teams.

Blanchard Racing Team will be a definite player with James Courtney's impending retirement, whilst PremiAir Racing are also set to make changes amid a difficult season, despite Richie Stanaway having an option for 2026.

Both Blanchard and Xiberras fronted the media today at The Bend alongside Walkinshaw Andretti United team principal Carl Faux, who has both Chaz Mostert and Ryan Wood locked away for 2026, but could lose co-driver Jayden Ojeda if rumours are to be believed.

Blanchard has thrown his weight behind rookie and Practice 1 pacesetter Aaron Cameron, who has stated he wants to be 'hard to sack' into the new year, with the former Supercars driver looking to continue with a blend of youth an experience.

"That's kind of the decisions we're making at the moment," said Blanchard.

"I think that's probably the most logical direction for us I think. Having JC there supporting Love last year and then Camo this year's been really beneficial, and I know Camo's pretty disappointed that JC's not going again.

"They've got a long relationship and I know Camo's always asking him a lot of questions and learning a lot from him.

"So I think for us taking two rookies is probably a big risk for where we're at as a team. We're still developing. So I wouldn't say we're ruling it out, but I think it'll probably be similar kind of structure for this year.

Blanchard once again threw his support behind 25-year-old Cameron, who has been on an upwards trajectory ever since his sudden graduation to replace Aaron Love following the opening round of the season in Sydney.

"For Camo, it's well known where he's at and he's taken some good steps forward. And today, again, he's already already demonstrated he's trying to put his foot best foot forward again this weekend.

"He keeps improving every weekend, and that's what he needs to be doing right now.

"There's still lots to sort out so, nothing is sorted at this stage for next year, and we're probably looking at working towards Bathurst, Gold Coast.

"There's obviously a number of drivers and younger guys that are around as well, and you know, we want to give Camo as much time as we can to keep his development going.

"So we'll see what happens over this weekend at Bathurst. But yeah, that's, that's kind of the timeline we're working towards."

For Xiberras, the future is less certain as both Stanaway and James Golding look set to make way with the team look to rediscover their strong form from the back end of 2024.

The PremiAir team owner insists that nothing has been decided for next year despite speculation indicating that Ojeda and former Super2 champion Declan Fraser have been lined up for 2026, saying that the enduros could see new favourites emerge.

"We'll make an announcement traditionally between Bathurst and probably Gold Coast," said Xiberras.

"One of the beauties of the endurance rounds is there's a smorgasbord of young, up and coming talent, and so for us as team owners and engineers and everyone involved it's a great opportunity for people to shine.

"We'll be eagerly watching the next two rounds and that's probably why teams like us will make decisions after Bathurst, and we'll look at the direction we're going to go."

As for Faux, declared that Ojeda wouldn't be bound to his co-driving contract if any full-time opportunity arose, such as when Lee Holdsworth to Penrite Racing in 2022 after winning Bathurst with Chaz Mostert the year prior.

"He's been a great driver for us previously, and he's with us for the enduros as we have a contract with both co-drivers actually.

"I think that we've shown previously, we're generally good people and if the opportunity arises for a co-driver to get a main game opportunity, then there's a discussion we'll have."