LAST year’s Repco Bathurst 1000-winning combination of Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth could be reunited as soon as next year.
V8 Sleuth understands WAU holds the first option on Holdsworth’s services once he returns to co-driver status as part of the terms agreed upon when he was released from the second half of his two-year deal to take up a full-time 2022 drive at Grove Racing.
Holdsworth last week announced he’ll retire as a full-timer at the end of this season, despite having been in the running for the soon-to-be-vacated Blanchard Racing Team seat.
Absent from that announcement was any indication that he’ll simply shuffle within Groves to being a co-driver there in 2023.
It’s believed WAU has a deadline by which it has to activate the option.
WAU, which will shift to Ford next year, currently has veterans Fabian Coulthard and Warren Luff on its books to partner Mostert and Nick Percat respectively at Bathurst.
Speaking on the latest edition of the Castrol Motorsport News Podcast, Holdsworth denied that a 2023 return to WAU is a done deal.
“No, look, at this stage I’m not really focused on where I’m going to be at for enduros,” said the 39-year-old.
“I haven’t signed anything yet for next year. I’m pretty relaxed about it and I think that stuff will play itself out.
“No one really likes to talk about enduros until around that Bathurst time or shortly after so I just want to completely focus on the job ahead: I have still got four rounds ahead of me to do the best job I can for Penrite Racing and try to finish my full-time career on a high.
“It’s no secret that this year has been tough with tuning this car up and I’ve had a little bit of inconsistency between Dave (Reynolds)’s car and my car in balance.
“We’re starting to find a few things that are different. We just need to understand them and fix them and apply them the best we can to put a good car on the track.
“So I think over the next month or so I’ll have something in place.”
While he’ll move into full-time work in the commercial real estate sector next year, Holdsworth is eager to keep coming back to The Mountain for many seasons to come.
“The good thing is, with enduro drivers, there’s guys like Luffy – and Lowndesy will be around for a long time yet – those guys just keep coming back and doing a great job as enduro drivers,” he said.
“So you could be endurance driving, having a shot at winning Bathurst, for the next five to 10 years and that excites me.”
This weekend’s ITM Auckland SuperSprint represents the fourth-last round of Holdsworth’s full-time Repco Supercars Championship career.
