WILL Davison will begin his relationship with Grove Racing earlier than expected by forming one-third of the team’s trio to challenge the Pro class at next year’s Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour.
Davison will team with Grove Racing Supercars regular Kai Allen and team CEO Brenton Grove in a Mercedes AMG GT3.
It won’t be the first time Davison and Allen have teamed up at Bathurst; they shared a Dick Johnson Racing Mustang in the 2024 Supercars endurance races.
The team announced this morning that long-term partner Penrite will back the entry as it celebrates the start of its 100th anniversary year of 2026. The car will carry the race number 100, the same number that delivered the team’s Repco Bathurst 1000 win in October with Matt Payne and Garth Tander.
Grove Racing’s senior engineering leaders in Jack Bell, Grant McPherson and Alistair McVean will form part of the team’s program at Bathurst.
McPherson and McVean will both be reunited with working with Davison; the former engineered the driver at Ford Performance Racing for three years and the latter engineered him at the Holden Racing Team in 2009.
“It’s fantastic to be joining Grove Racing at the Bathurst 12 Hour for my first race with the team,” says Davison.
“The engineering depth and ambition they’ve have is seriously impressive, and I can’t wait to hop into the Penrite Racing Mercedes AMG GT3. To be part of their push for an outright Pro Class victory at Bathurst is something I’m genuinely excited about.”
Grove Racing’s history in the Bathurst 12 Hour is significant with five class victories in Class B and Pro-Am in the Mount Panorama classic.
Earlier this year the team ran its Mercedes AMG in the GT3 Bronze class of the 12 Hour with Grove father and son joined by German Fabian Schiller.
Team owner Stephen Grove will step out of the Mercedes cockpit for this year’s 12 Hour but says the Pro Class challenge is a “statement of intent for our team.”
“We’ve proven we can win at Bathurst, and now we’re taking the next step by targeting an outright result on the world stage,” he says.
“Reuniting Will and Kai at Mount Panorama is incredibly exciting and to do it with Penrite as our naming partner in their centenary year, in car number 100, makes this program incredibly special.”
The Meguair’s Bathurst 12 Hour will be held at Mount Panorama on February 13-15.
Event organisers Supercars hve already indicated the field size for 2026’s race has surpassed 30 cars, making for the biggest field for the 12 Hour since 2020 prior to COVID.
The render of the Penrite-backed, Grove Racing Mercedes for the 12 Hour. Photo: Supplied.