Reynolds joins Australian GT field

Reynolds will be reunited with former Carrera Cup Pro-Am partner Tony Bates for the pair of one-hour races that will kick off the 2022 season.

They will drive Bates' Audi R8 GT3 that has recently been upgraded to Evo 2 spec.

“I’ve raced GT cars occasionally, but I want to spend more time in them,” said Reynolds.

“I’ve done a few races in a Mercedes [GT3 car], which I really enjoyed, but the Audi is mid-engined so I’m expecting it to feel different and I will need to adapt my driving style accordingly.

“It’s been ages since Tony and I have driven together, and I love working with him and helping bring out the best in his driving. Last time we shared a car [in 2016], he went on to win the Carrera Cup Pro-Am championship, so hopefully I’m a good luck charm for him!”

Bates is not yet sure if he'll complete the full GTWCA season, but is looking forward to teaming up with Reynolds for Round 1.

“Dave and I are great mates – as well as being an accomplished driver, he’s a lot of fun away from the race track,” Bates said.

“It will be very entertaining having him in the garage, so it’s bound to be an enjoyable weekend.

“The last couple of seasons have had all sorts of disruptions with COVID and business commitments, so I’m really looking forward to being able to direct my entire focus to the race track.

“I’ve committed to doing the first GT World Challenge round this weekend, and then I will assess my racing programme for the remainder of 2022.

“We tested at Phillip Island a couple of weeks ago and I felt comfortable in the car straight away. We recently installed the Evo 2 upgrade package on my Audi and straight away, I noticed an improvement with stability through the high-speed corners.”

Practice and qualifying will take place this Friday ahead of two one-hour races, one on Saturday and one on Sunday.

Coverage of the GT World Challenge Australia action from Phillip Island will be shown live and free on Motorsport.tv (local restrictions apply).