Brabham, the son of former Le Mans winner Geoff Brabham and the grandson of three-time world champion Sir Jack Brabham, will have his first test of the new ZB model Commodore Supercar at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Matt Brabham previously made one start in the Supercars Championship, when he drove a Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport Commodore in the Barbagallo Raceway round of the championship last year.

“I have been fortunate to have some terrific days in my motorsport career and this is certainly right up there,” Brabham said. “Supercars is obviously one of the world’s leading categories and I am tremendously grateful for the opportunity that Preston Hire Racing has provided me.

“The one-off ride last year (in Perth) gave me a small taste of what Supercars is about and I can’t wait to get out there. Lee is a first-class operator and has always been good to me and I am sure we will complement each other.”

Team owner Charlie Schwerkolt said he was excited to welcome Brabham to Preston Hire Racing as the team heads into the new season hopeful of continuing its strong late-2017 form.

“Matt is a terrific young driver and young man and we believe he will be a valuable asset for our race team as we all progress to the next level,” Schwerkolt said. “Matt is a racer. It goes without saying that it is in his blood and we believe that he will perfectly complement Lee.”

Brabham rose through the junior ranks of Australian karting and Formula Ford before winning the US F2000 championship in 2012 the US Pro Mazda Series in 2013. He made his IndyCar debut the following year. Despite finishing 16th on debut in the 2016 Indianapolis 500, he has been unable to secure a permanent place in the IndyCar Series.

While Brabham will be making his Bathurst 1000 debut when he joins Holdsworth on the Mountain later this October, it will not be his first time at Mount Panorama – last weekend Brabham shared the GT4-class winning BMW M4 in the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour.