GENERAL Motors is set for a big boost in time for the Ryco Enduro Cup, with an August start date on the cards for high-profile recruit Grant McPherson.

The man known as ‘Shippy’ was pounced on by GM to bolster its Supercars brains trust, but has first had to serve his notice period for Grove Racing where he had been the Ford team’s technical director.

GM Motorsports Supercars racing program manager Simon McNamara told V8 Sleuth that McPherson is due to begin in his new role late next month.

“He will oversee the technical aspect of our Team Chevy group and work very closely with all of our teams in terms of how we’re doing things going forward, development of bits, development of people,” McNamara reiterated.

Simon McNamara. Pic: Mark Walker

“He’ll be the global piece in the engineering operation, so there’ll be some mentoring to it as well, making sure our group collectively are doing the best that we can for each team to save time, money and to go forward as quick as we can.”

The timing is particularly valuable given how McPherson has had the magic touch when it comes to Mount Panorama.

He has been connected to seven Bathurst 1000-winning campaigns in the past 13 years across four different teams: Ford Performance Racing (2013, ’14), Triple Eight (2015, ’18, ’20), Walkinshaw Andretti United (2021), and Grove Racing (2025).

“It would be better if he was starting two months ago,” McNamara noted.

“It’s very good that he will be here for Bathurst, and around for Tailem Bend as well.

“I’m quite sure he has probably got ideas about what he wants to do, but he’s in another role at another business at the moment so we will leave him alone. But I’m pretty sure he has got his own understanding of what he wants to do.

“He knows what our program is – he obviously needed to know, trying to get someone of his calibre.”

It’s anticipated Chevrolet will have a nine-strong contingent for the Great Race, with its eight regular entries complemented by the Team 18 wildcard of Craig Lowndes/Bayley Hall.

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