Longtime Porsche entrant Grove Racing has made the switch to Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo machinery, which will kick off with next weekend’s 24H Series Hankook 6H Abu Dhabi followed by the postponed Hankook 24H Dubai later this month.
The Australian squad, run by Earl Bamber Motorsport, will field a Mercedes-AMG for the father-and-son pairing of Stephen and Brenton Grove, plus Mercedes-AMG junior driver Jordan Love.
Grove’s Australian Supercars driver Matthew Payne, meanwhile, will take part in the 24H Dubai alongside the Groves and Phil Keen.
“To head into another season with a new brand is incredibly refreshing,” said Brendon Grove. “Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing have been a pleasure to deal with and we’re excited to see what we can do together.
“There’s no need to explain the pedigree the brand has within motorsport, and we can’t wait to be a part of that. It really is the world’s fastest family.”
The team ended its tenure with Porsche in last month’s Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli season-ending Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi, the site of what will be its first outing with Mercedes-AMG.
It’s likely the team will return to IGTC competition again this year, which begins with its home race at Bathurst next month.
“To head back to Abu Dhabi after the issues the team had to deal with last time is going to be a blessing,” Brenton added. “We can’t wait to get a big year of racing started.”