Bathurst 1000 champion Lee Holdsworth’s Supercars career has been revived, with the 38-year-old signing with Grove Racing for 2022.
Without a full-time drive after splitting with Tickford Racing at the end of 2020, Holdsworth partnered Chaz Mostert at Mount Panorama earlier this month, claiming his first victory after nearly two decades of trying.
Holdsworth has signed a one-year deal to drive alongside David Reynolds at Grove Racing, filling the last spot on the Supercars grid for 2022.
AS IT HAPPENED: Aussies rocked as captain ruled out due to COVID-19 rules
READ MORE: England architects of own demise on day one
READ MORE: NSW great’s golden line that shut up Fatty Vautin
“I’m blown away by this opportunity and I can’t wait to get back full-time into the Supercars Championship,” said Holdsworth.
“My full time campaign was cut short at the end of 2020 and it certainly wasn’t the way I imagined bowing out from the sport.
“I’ve now got a great opportunity with Grove Racing to finish off my full-time career in Supercars while playing an important role in helping the team move forward for the future.”
Holdsworth finished in the top-10 in the championship for four straight years from 2009-2012, and is a four-time race winner in the series.
“I’ve got an important role to play in the team for next year, and I’m excited by that,” he said.
“Having the chance to partner David Reynolds, who I know is one of the fastest drivers in the field, and help build this new team up to be a future force in the championship is very exciting.
“You can see Grove Racing is leaving nothing on the table. They have good cars, some new engineering and management talent, and they are building up their young driver program too, so I’m looking forward to being a part of the whole program. Hopefully I can use some of my experience to help drive the team forward.
“What a great Christmas present! Now I’m just excited to drive the Grove Mustang for the first time early in the new year.”
Holdsworth replaces Andre Heimgartner at Grove Racing, who had been expected to give the drive to New Zealand teenager Matt Payne. However, it was announced yesterday that Payne will instead compete in the Super2 series.
Team owner Stephen Grove said signing Holdsworth was a no-brainer.
“Lee has proven to be one of the fastest and most reliable drivers in the Supercars field over the years, and we feel he will be the perfect fit for our team,” he said.
“He did an incredible job as the co-driver to Chaz Mostert in the Bathurst 1000, and they both thoroughly deserved the victory at The Great Race.
“Lee is one of the most experienced drivers in the field, and at this point of our team’s development, and with the implementation of the Grove Junior Team, we wanted to have an experienced driver, a leader off the track and most importantly, someone we know will work with our team to drive forward.
“Lee ticks all of those boxes. His resume speaks for itself and we can’t wait to get into the Supercars Championship with him and David Reynolds next year.”
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!