Purdie returns with the Audi R8 GT4 after a breakout start to the 2025 season, where he and co-driver Daniel Price finished second and first in the two races at Philip Island.
Alongside enlisting Supercars rookie Stewart, the Purdie Racing entry will be run with assistance from highly esteemed South Australian outfit Team BRM.
While results dropped away after the fast start at Philip Island, Purdie and Price showed speed throughout the season, with bad luck resulting in seventh position in the standings.
Purdie and new recruit Stewart will be looking to utilise the same speed shown throughout the year and the experience of Team BRM to challenge for race wins through the year.
“Last year was a bit of a redemption story in some ways – we came out strong in the first round and had some great pace, but the results didn’t quite fall our way across the rest of the year,” Purdie said.
“Hopefully this year will be a different story with Jobe alongside me.
“Jobe is a very talented driver. He’s still early in his national career, but over the last 12 months he’s really proven himself as a very capable driver.
“We’ve known each other for years and he’s one of my closest mates in racing. We grew up racing together, so I think it’ll make for a really strong pairing this season.
“Originally we were looking at running in Silver-Am, but once we saw how strong the Silver field was shaping up to be this year it became a really attractive option.”
Stewart has long been a product of the Erebus Motorsport Academy, having risen through the junior ranks with success along the way.
Standout performances alongside Cooper Murray in the Supercars endurance events last year put Stewart on the map.
Murray and Stewart combined to finish seventh at The Bend and fourth at Bathurst, almost pulling off a fairytale victory until late contact undid their chances.
“Racing in Monochrome GT4 Australia is going to be awesome,” Stewart said.
“I’ve never driven anything like a GT4 car before – I’ve only raced in Toyota 86, Super2 and Supercars – so jumping into something with traction control and ABS will be a bit different.
“The car showed great pace last year and Blake and Daniel won at Phillip Island, so I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to hopefully continue that form this season.
“I think we definitely have the potential to fight for the championship, but the main thing is to start strong in round one and see how everything plays out.
“With so many different manufacturers in the field you never quite know what you’re going to get each weekend, which makes it really exciting.”
Monochrome GT4 Australia commences on March 27-29 at Phillip Island as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries.
This article first appeared on Speedcafe.com, a sister site to MotorRacing.com.
