Blanchard to make Wildcard Supercars return

Blanchard stepped back from full-time driving at the end of last season to concentrate on team ownership duties, his Racing Entitlements Contract underpinning the third Brad Jones Racing entry.

He was expected to return to the cockpit for the long-distance races alongside Nick Percat later in the year, however his comeback is coming early. Blanchard's now set to pilot a BJR-run Wildcard entry at the Perth SuperNight round in just over a fortnight, the second for the team in three rounds following Jack Smith's Symmons Plains outing.

“I am looking forward to stepping back into the Supercars series in Perth. The night race was heaps of fun last year, so I expect it to be just as big this year," said Blanchard.

“Stepping down from full-time racing last year was a big decision for me, but I still enjoy racing at this level. So I was always keen to stay involved in a driving capacity, through the Pirtek Endurance Cup or any other opportunities that arose, like this.

“Our expectations for the weekend are realistic; we have put a great crew together, which is a mix of new and old crew from the workshop, so I am confident we’ll have a successful weekend. It’ll be a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel!”

Blanchard also hinted that he won't run in the colours of his family business CoolDrive.

“Supercar fans will be expecting me back in Team CoolDrive colours, but we’ve been working behind the scenes and will be revealing something totally different for the Perth SuperNight event," he said.

"Watch this space.”

Blanchard could have been the second Wildcard entered for the Perth race, with Triple Eight having evaluated running a third entry for hometown hero Garth Tander before opting against the idea.