Repco joins GRM for Bathurst wildcard

Repco and Valvoline have teamed up to back Garry Rogers Motorsport in its return to Bathurst.

Story: Staff Writer

In summary

Garry Rogers Motorsport returns to Bathurst with a wild-card Camaro in a retro livery based on the GRM Commodore VT that won the Great Race in 2000.
Nathan Herne and James Moffat will share the number 34 GRM Camaro, backed by returning sponsor Valvoline and new supporter Repco.
The entry completes unfinished business for GRM, six years after Herne failed to secure a Supercars super licence for a previous wildcard attempt.

Garry Rogers Motorsport will be hoping it’s just like old times on the Mountain this year as the team returns to Bathurst with a wild-card Camaro entry resplendent in a retro version colour scheme of the GRM Commodore VT that won in 2000.

That year relative rookies Jason Bargwanna and Garth Tander combined to deliver a veteran-like performance in difficult wet conditions to score what was something of an upset win. It remains GRM’s only victory in the Great Race.

The 2000 Bathurst-winning Bargwanna/Tander GRM/Valvoline Commodore (below) will be on display at the 2026 Repco Bathurst 1000 during race weekend.

Longtime GRM sponsor Valvoline is back, and Repco has also pledged its support for the number 34 GRM Camaro wildcard-entry to be shared by Nathan Herne and James Moffat.

“Repco is proud to be joining Valvoline’s return to the number 34 car, celebrating Garry Rogers and the pivotal role he played in Supercars for more than 30 years,” said Repco’s executive general manager of marketing, Mitchell Wiley.

“Garry created career-making opportunities for so many young drivers, engineers and technicians in Australian motorsport. Our partnership with Valvoline brings the famous winning livery back to the track, a celebration of his legacy and his team’s Bathurst success 26 years ago.”

The wildcard entry, in a sense, amounts to the completion of unfinished business for GRM six years after the team attempted to field a wildcard entry for Herne. At the time Herne failed to secure a Supercars’ ‘super licence’, despite demonstrating front-running and race-winning performances in Trans-Am and S5000 openwhweeler competition.

By any objective analysis he was race-ready for the Bathurst 1000 that year, but not according to the Supercars super licence criterion system which was weighted in favour of drivers competing in its Super2 second-division series.