Perkins to oversee four-car operation in 2004.

Six times Bathurst champion, Larry Perkins, announced today that he will oversee a four-car Holden V8 race operation for the 2004 Supercar season from his Perkins Engineering workshop at Moorabbin in Victoria.

Operating under the combined franchises of Perkins/Castrol [two cars] Rod Nash and Toll Racing [one car each] the four entries see Perkins' regular drivers Steve Richards and Paul Dumbrell joined by veteran Tony Longhurst and ex-Ford man Anthony Tratt.

Longhurst, in his first full season since racing a Nash Commodore in 2001, will campaign a third Castrol liveried Holden, while Tratt, after five years racing Falcons full-time, switches to Commodore - bedecked in familiar Toll Racing colours for 2004.

"For some time now, I've wanted to expand the operation," said Perkins.

"It made sense to use our capital investment in resources and equipment to give us better economy of scale across a broader base. In my mind this is how to do it.

"It's a one year arrangement for all parties to create a combined infrastructure that can hold us in good stead for the future," he said.

"This is not an inexpensive exercise, as it costs well over a million dollars per car to run a Supercar season," he added.

Tratt has no qualms moving from Ford to Holden.

"Toll has commercial arrangements with both manufacturers, and we think a deal involving an organisation such as Perkins' with the operation he has in place will help us move forward in the performance stakes.

"Realistically, we could be a chance to run regularly in the top half of the field," Tratt said.

Perkins also welcomed 1987 and 2001 Bathurst winner Longhurst back into Castrol colours.

"Tony has always been a reliable operator with a solid track record. We are building new VY race Commodores for both he and Tratt, while Richards will continue with his 2003 VY and Dumbrell will use his VX Commodore until we upgrade to VY mid-year," Perkins said.