News
Team Valvoline GRM Wildcard Takes 19th After Record Breaking Bathurst 1000
October 15, 2026
After months of build-up the Team Valvoline GRM Wildcard took home 19th place in the Bathurst 1000, after being set on the back foot as a result of lap 1 contact.
Nathan Herne and James Moffat put together a faultless practice program in the lead up, with the #34 entry taking to the grid without so much as a scratch on it. Herne had the duties of qualifying, which was no small feat for the 24-year-old on debut in the category.
It was a strong performance from the Lismore hero who put our Chevy Camaro 21st on the grid in a field of 26 full-time drivers, with the GRM squad also fielding a Gen3 Supercar for the first time ever.
Moffat was tasked with getting our race underway, something he’s got plenty of experience with across his 17 Bathurst 1000 starts. Unfortunately, we were squeezed and got the worst of it when another car lunged up the inside at The Cutting, putting Moffat in the middle of a 3 wide situation.
The car suffered a right front puncture, as well as minor bodywork damage down both sides of the car. Moffat was able to limp the car back to the pits, but we fell the better part of two laps down in the process.
Despite every belief we’d be back in the fight and on the lead lap after the inevitable Safety Car, we proceeded to have the longest green flag run in the history of The Great Race under the Supercars guise.
A lap 156 Safety Car intervention did not allow us to gain a lap back under the rules, with it falling within the final 10 laps of the race. It did however bunch up the lapped cars, which allowed Herne to pounce and pick up a spot.
Both Moffat and Herne were faultless all day with the car’s only damage arising from lap 1, while the old adage of first finishing the race allowed the team to secure 19th place come the chequered flag.
In a true testament to the team at the workshop and those who travelled to Bathurst as part of our performance personnel, the car was virtually bulletproof across the weekend with no notable mechanical issues. That achievement in itself is one to be heavily applauded.
Merchandise had sold out by Saturday, and the boys were kept extremely busy at all of our driver signing sessions, with the whole team thrilled to see the outpouring of support from long time and new fans of GRM.
As much as we loved having Herne back in the team, next time we see him will be as our toughest opposition when the Trans Am series returns for its double header Sandown season finale.
We’ll be on track at Sandown from October 30 to November 1 as part of the SpeedSeries event, before the season wraps up 7 days later on the Supercars support card.