MATT Stone Racing’s eponymous owner has expressed his desire to stick with an unchanged driver line-up for the 2027 Repco Supercars Championship, but stopped short of making a definitive statement.
MSR has over the years had a knack of inevitably finding itself in silly season equations.
It has only twice in its history gone without off-season change, those occasions being 2018/19 (Todd Hazelwood) and 2024/25 (Nick Percat, Cameron Hill).
The Yatala squad had a double swap for this year, bringing Jack Le Brocq back and handing rookie Zach Bates an opportunity. No contract term was originally specified for either.
With more than two-thirds of the grid having guaranteed 2027 deals already in place, the scrutiny is sure to intensify around those without public assurances.
Bates, who has been described by Mark Winterbottom as the best of the five first-year drivers in the 2026 field, is understood to have attracted interest from at least one rival team.
Anyhow, Matt Stone had this to say to V8 Sleuth regarding next season: “For us, we know our plans, we have them.
“We’re very happy with our line-up and we’re very happy with the momentum we’re building.
“But we, as a little bit of a policy, decided that the length of our arrangements is not something we’re going to broadcast. I think it makes more sense for us to keep that internal, learning from previous encounters.
Zach Bates and Jack Le Brocq at a Darwin signing session. Pic: Ross Gibb
“But we’re very comfortable with our line-up and our direction over the next couple of years.”
Six rounds in, Le Brocq is right in the thick of the finals fight, while Bates has shown plenty of promising signs.
As the on-track action edges towards the enduros these next few months, expect the silly season to tick along in the background.
For what it’s worth, the 2026 grid was not finalised until mid-November last year.