The championship-leading Toll HSV Dealer Team today confirmed it has signed two-time Touring Car World Cup winner Paul Radisich for Sandown and Bathurst.

The New Zealand international will join fellow Kiwi Craig Baird and regular drivers Rick Kelly and Garth Tander in the Toll HSV ranks for the big endurance races in September and October.

The formal announcement was put on hold until Carrera Cup star and Bathurst rookie David Reynolds was signed and sealed with Super Cheap Auto Racing for the enduros.

Reynolds had been in line for a drive with Toll HSV in the big races in September and October, but was happy to transfer to Super Cheap for his V8 Supercar debut without the potential pressure of a fellow driver’s championship hanging over him.

Tander and Kelly are going into the enduros locked together in a battle for the title. After seven rounds, Tander is leading Kelly by 10 points.

The Victorian-based Toll HSV outfit was Radisich’s team of choice for the endurance races after severing ties with his previous team, Team Kiwi Racing, in May.

He said that after enduring difficulties with the struggling TKR earlier this season he was delighted to have ended up with the “best ride in the endurance races” with a genuine chance at his first Bathurst win after twice being runner-up in his 15 attempts.

“All of the Toll HSV drivers are experienced guys, and I would be happy to drive with any of them,” he said. “It is a strong combination – one of the strongest – and I am so happy to get this opportunity so late in the season.”

Radisich recently had corrective surgery to remove loose bone from the ankle he broke in a crash at Bathurst last year, but says he will be fully fit and raring to go come September.

Toll HSV Dealer Team Manager Rob Crawford said the team had been delighted to secure the services of Radisich, who would add necessary experience and flexibility to the Toll HSV line up.

“Paul and Craig Baird are both proven champions with lots of experience in V8 Supercars at Bathurst,” he said. “We know that we can just put them in the car with a job to do and they will be able to carry it out.”

Crawford said no decision on Toll HSV driver pairings would be made until after the Oran Park round of the V8 Supercar Series.