Supercars shocks: Recent mid-season splits
The timing of Aaron Love's bombshell departure from Blanchard Racing Team on the eve of the MSS Security Melbourne SuperSprint came as a shock to many.
After a torrid rookie season last year, Tim Blanchard appeared to keep his faith in the young West Aussie for 2025, however just one round in to his sophomore year, and Love decided to step away from BRT.
Whilst mid-season driver departures are uncommon in Supercars, that doesn't mean that there aren't some examples throughout the championship's history.
Supercars.com takes a look back at some of the most recent mid-season departures in Supercars.
John Bowe and Briggs Motor Sport (2001)
After 11 seasons at Dick Johnson Racing brought two Bathurst wins and a championship victory in 1995, John Bowe made the move to ambitious Western Australian start-up squad PAE Motorsport for 1999.
However, John Briggs bought out the team before the season was up, relocating the outfit to Brisbane, with Bowe and Briggs Motorsport a midfield operation.
A difficult 2001 season looked to be turning around at the Bathurst 1000, where Bowe flew from seventh to first in the opening stint, and co-driver Simon Wills broke the lap record.
However, Wills speared off making an ambitious move in the late stages of the race, with Bowe showing the Kiwi his displeasure and also taking issue with Briggs' expectations of that year's Super2 champion.
The Bowe/Briggs relationship rapidly deteriorated, and by the next round in New Zealand, Bowe had made way for Wills, who remained in the #600 CAT Ford into 2002, whilst Bowe moved to Brad Jones Racing.
Paul Radisich and Team Kiwi Racing (2007)
Following his heavy season-ending crash at Bathurst in 2006, Paul Radisich missed the opening round of 2007 whilst still recovering from his injuries, and returned for the second round at Perth.
There was an off-season upheaval for Team Kiwi Racing, who swapped Paul Morris Motorsport-prepared Commodores for Ford Performance Racing-prepared Falcons.
However, the new deal which promised a performance boost fell apart before the first half of 2007 was completed, with FPR terminating the contract at the end of May just four rounds into the season.
As a knock-on effect, Radisich also departed TKR, stating that the team were in breach of contract.
TKR missed the next three events as they scrambled to find a new technical partner, with Stone Brothers Racing providing a Falcon from Oran Park onwards, giving a teenage prodigy his maiden Supercars outing.
His name? Shane van Gisbergen.
Jonny Reid and Dick Johnson Racing (2013)
In 2013, another Kiwi found himself at the centre of a mid-season departure as a result of Ford Performance Racing's involvement with another team.
10 years after making his Supercars debut at the 2003 Bathurst 1000, Jonny Reid signed with Dick Johnson Racing for his maiden full-time campaign having starred in international open-wheelers and Carrera Cup.
Reid struggled in the first three events with DJR, only finishing in the top 20 twice in nine starts, before departing the team after his home event in Pukekohe.
DJR were in a technical alliance with FPR for the first year of the Car of the Future regulations, and those ties were strengthened early in the year.
Having won the opening round of the 2013 Dunlop Super2 Series in Adelaide, FPR junior Chaz Mostert was promoted to the main game in the #12 seat, the beginning of a long-time partnership with engineer Adam De Borre.
Alex Rullo and Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport (2017)
To this day the youngest driver to compete in the Repco Supercars Championship, Alex Rullo endured a baptism by fire in Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport's final season in 2017.
The Western Australian was just 16 when he debuted in Adelaide at the start of the season, but when Phil Munday bought in to the squad, Rullo's future immediately became clouded.
Munday's plans included downsizing from two cars to one, and running a Prodrive-built Falcon, the team eventually becoming 23Red Racing.
It also became clear that Rullo was not part of Munday's plans despite signing a two-year deal with LDM, with 23Red preferring to build around an experienced driver, who turned out to be Will Davison.
The disagreement between the team and Rullo's management saw his sole full-time Supercars season come to an early end with two rounds of the 2017 season left to run.
James Courtney and Team Sydney (2020)
After a nine-year tenure at the former Holden Racing Team, James Courtney departed Walkinshaw Andretti United at the end of 2019 as they brought Chaz Mostert into the fold in a high-profile move.
Courtney, who grew up in Western Sydney, was signed for a homecoming at a rebranded Tekno Autosport operation, which was to become known as Team Sydney.
The team promised a lot, with a new base to be built at Sydney Motorsport Park, however all was not as it seemed at Team Sydney.
Courtney left the team after the opening round in Adelaide after a financial disagreement between the two parties, which initially seemed to bring an unceremonious end to Courtney's full-time career.
However, a lifeline emerged during the COVID pandemic, with 23Red's shutdown seeing Tickford buy the license, with Courtney and long-time supporter Boost Mobile remarkably not missing a single race.
Garry Jacobson and PremiAir Racing (2022)
The most recent driver to depart a team midway through a Supercars season was Garry Jacobson, who departed PremiAir Racing halfway into 2022.
In PremiAir's first season in Supercars, Jacobson had performed a starring role in just their third-ever event at Albert Park, scoring three top 10 finishes across the four races.
However, that was as good as it got for Jacobson in 2022, culminating in a wild weekend in Darwin that saw the 2016 Super2 champion caught up in several incidents.
Team owner Peter Xiberras was quick to act, releasing Jacobson and bringing James Golding back into his first full-time Supercars drive since 2019, a move which has proven a masterstroke.
