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Webb rules out championship return ahead of V8 Supercar silly season

Tekno team boss Jono Webb has ruled out a return to the driver's seat at his outfit despite losing Shane van Gisbergen at the en

Tekno team boss Jono Webb has tipped the first domino in the V8 Supercars driver change game for 2015.

The former full-time racer has ruled out a return to the driver's seat at his outfit despite losing Shane van Gisbergen at the end of the year, providing the momentum for a string of shifts at the end of the current season.

There are now three prime slots open for next year with three obvious contenders.

No-one is saying anything official, but the pieces currently fit together best with Moffat at Tekno, Reynolds at BJR and Coulthard at DJR Penske.

Tekno, DJR Team Penske and Brad Jones Racing all need new lead drivers, with Fabian Coulthard, David Reynolds and James Moffat the most likely contenders to fill them.

No-one is saying anything official, but the pieces currently fit together best with Moffat at Tekno, Reynolds at BJR and Coulthard at DJR Penske.

There are also potential moves including Tim Slade and David Wall, with Marcos Ambrose looking less and less likely to continue his unsuccessful V8 Supercar comeback with DJR-Penske in 2016.

Webb says there is no pressure on Tekno, although he is definitely not interested in a fulltime race place. "I'll be doing the enduros. That's all. Doing the fulltime gig again is not in my plan," Webb tells The Bulletin.

So, who is his first choice for 2016? "Dave Reynolds is off contract, Fabian too, and Moffat is kicking aound. And there are a couple of younger guys around," he says.

"We're in the hunt and we're talking. We're looking at the options, with a young guy or an older guy. We don't have any contracts out there yet."

But he is clearly not focussed on Coulthard. "Fabian is not off the list, but he's not at the top," Webb says.

Brad Jones confirms talks with Reynolds, who has been out of favour at Ford Performance Racing this year despite some promising results, while DJR Penske sources admit contact with Coulthard.

The speedy Kiwi is currently third in the V8 Supercar championship with Brad Jones' outfit, but is looking for a new challenge and a chance to boost his current $250,000-ish salary into the $400,000-plus range.

Moffat says he is keen to stay with the factory Nissan outfit, but the Kelly brothers' team has been struggling for support with a rotating roster of sponsors and no naming-rights backer for either Moffat or Michael Caruso.

As Caruso is contracted for another year, Moffat is most likely to be moving for 2016.

With so much at stake, and so many unanswered questions, Webb is well placed as he looks to replace The Giz. "There is no pressure point from anywhere, but it would be good to go into the enduros without worrying about signing a driver," Webb admits.

Meantime, he is among the long-distance co-drivers who will be getting their first significant hit-out of the year at Queensland Raceway on Friday morning. It's only a short single session, and none of the drivers will be on good tyres, but a dedicated co-driver session means a good chance for drivers - including Paul Dumbrell, Warren Luff, Marcos Ambrose and Steven Richards - to polish their skills and measure themselves against their rivals.

"It's the co-driver grand prix," Webb laughs. "It will be quite amusing. A lot of the guys haven't driven for a while. I also told the boys I want a set of green tyres and I'll go hard."

Paul Gover is a former CarsGuide contributor. During decades of experience as a motoring journalist, he has acted as chief reporter of News Corp Australia. Paul is an all-round automotive...
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