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Warren Luff will join James Courtney in the Jim Beam Racing Falcon at Phillip Island and Bathurst.

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Warren Luff will carry the burden of co-driving with current Championship leader James Courtney at Phillip Island and Bathurst but is relishing the opportunity.

New co-driver rules this season prohibit regular drivers from pairing, which means Courtney cannot team with Steven Johnson, so Luff will join Courtney in the #18 Jim Beam Racing Falcon while Marcus Marshall will pair with Johnson in the #17 Falcon.

Far from being concerned about teaming with the Championship leader, Luff believes it makes his job easier at the endurance races.

“I wouldn’t say it’s extra pressure, but rather, in some ways, it’s actually easier because you know the team and the car have been doing such a good job so we’re capable of getting a good result,” he told BigPond Sport.

“It’s not like you’re in a car that’s not capable of running at the front so you’re not trying to make up for the fact you don’t have the car under you, so that makes my job easier.

“The team’s proven they have the speed to win races and coming into the enduros they’ve had great results at the last few rounds, so there’s no reason why we can’t do the same,” he said.

Drivers not in the Championship on a full-time basis have welcomed the new co-driver rule, and Luff is one of the main benefactors by teaming with one of the Bathurst favourites.

“It gives us guys not in the main game the chance to pair with the guys who are so it gives us a better chance for a result that we probably wouldn’t have had otherwise,” he said.

Fujitsu Series racer David Russell will join Jonathon Webb in the third Dick Johnson Racing entry.