Shell V-Power Racing Team bolsters engineering ranks for enduros
Experienced engineer Blake Smith reprises 2025 role as Strategy Engineer
Smith a key factor in Brodie Kostecki/Todd Hazelwood's Bend win last year
The Shell V-Power Racing Team has turned to a strategy specialist to help the Ford squad return serve in the upcoming Ryco Enduro Cup.
Veteran engineer Blake Smith will join Dick Johnson Racing for the year’s longest races at Tailem Bend and Mount Panorama.
Smith stepped in with DJR last year, and played a key role in a brilliant victory at The Bend for Brodie Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood.
He previously helped the team to championship success in 2010, and also helped Erebus Motorsport win the 2024 Bathurst 1000.
Smith’s return to DJR comes as the regulations open up for the enduros, permitting teams to take additional performance personnel to the track.
“He’s a very experienced engineer,” explained DJR co-owner Ryan Story of Smith, on the PG & The Doc podcast.
"He’s someone who was a race engineer here at DJR back in 2012 and was a key part of James Courtney’s championship back in 2010.
“He was the data engineer on the cars back in that time.
“He’s got an enormous amount of experience and he basically assists the race engineers with tactics and strategy throughout those longer races.”
A Ryco Enduro Cup victory for Kostecki could propel the 2023 champion towards a potential top seeding for the 2026 Finals. Kostecki is 225 points behind Broc Feeney heading to The Bend.
On-track action in South Australia commences with three practice sessions on Friday.
