TODD Hazelwood’s switch to the Blanchard Racing Team for the 2023 Repco Supercars Championship has been confirmed.
It became clear last month that Hazelwood would sever ties midway through the two-year deal he had rejoined Matt Stone Racing on.
BRT had been active in the driver market given Tim Slade’s expected move to PremiAir Racing.
“We would like to welcome Todd to BRT for the 2023 season, as we take on the challenge of the Gen3 era,” said BRT co-principal Tim Blanchard.
“Todd has established himself in the series over recent years and we are confident that in our environment working alongside Mirko De Rosa, he will be able to fulfil his potential that has been evident to date.
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“In 2023 we will enter our third season as a standalone team and continue to build on the foundations we have laid, we are investing in additional infrastructure, assisting Supercars with the Gen3 project, and we are excited to add a Super2 program to the business as an additional tool to develop talent within the team.
“We would like to thank Tim Slade for his contribution to BRT in its foundation years, while it is disappointing we couldn’t reach an agreement for 2023, we wish him all the best for his future.”
It’s Hazelwood’s third team change since making his full-time Supercars Championship debut with MSR in 2018.
After two seasons there, he switched to Brad Jones Racing – ironically also to replace Slade – before heading back to Yatala after another two years.
Before any of that, however, Hazelwood’s first Bathurst 1000 came alongside Blanchard in 2017.
“I am very proud that I’ll be joining the Blanchard Racing Team in 2023 and I cannot wait to get behind the wheel of the CoolDrive Ford Mustang,” said the 27-year-old.
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“The team at BRT has big ambitions for the future and I’m looking forward to the challenge of pushing myself to achieve the goals put in place.
“BRT has an incredibly professional outfit which includes very experienced personnel with strong resources within the automotive industry.
“With all this combined, I have no doubt this will help the team and I achieve our goals in 2023 and beyond.”
It’s not yet clear who will take Hazelwood’s place at MSR, although the team has indicated it wants its 2023 roster sorted sooner than later.
Hazelwood will be joined by Jayden Ojeda for the Repco Bathurst 1000 this week, while Slade and Blanchard will team up one more time in the #3 CoolDrive Mustang.
