Slade secures 2026 drive with Bathurst 1000 winners

Tim Slade will shift from Matt Stone Racing to Penrite Racing for the 2026 Enduro Cup.

Confirmed Sunday, the veteran will move to Grove Racing next season after a single campaign with MSR.

Slade retired from full-time Supercars racing at the end of 2024, and was quickly signed by MSR alongside Nick Percat.

Percat/Slade finished fifth at the AirTouch 500 at The Bend, before an engine issue took them out of the Bathurst.

Bathurst proved Slade’s second and final start with MSR, with Grove Racing moving quickly to secure the two-time race winner’s services.

Penrite Racing, which won last month’s Repco Bathurst 1000, will now have two new co-drivers, with Slade the first one confirmed.

Dale Wood was released by the team in the weeks after Bathurst, before Garth Tander confirmed his retirement on Saturday morning.

Penrite Racing has yet to confirm who Slade will partner in 2026.

There remains one vacancy at the team, with outgoing Dick Johnson Racing driver Will Davison linked to the Penrite-backed squad. Two-time Bathurst 12 Hour winner Matt Campbell has also been linked.

The co-driver market has ramped up in recent weeks, with Percat (Triple Eight Race Engineering), Jaxon Evans (Walkinshaw Andretti United) and James Courtney (Team 18) finding new homes.