MOTORSPORT: Holden Commodore to race on – for now

The Holden Commodore will continue to race until the end of 2021 despite the death of the lion king as a car company.

As Commodore teams gear up for the start of the 2020 Supercars championship in Adelaide this weekend, rolling out tomorrow morning (February 17) at Tailem Bend for their official pre-season test, the head of the Red Bull Holden Racing Team says there is no change to any of the existing plans.

Roland Dane is clearly shocked by the announcement but, speaking exclusively to carsales, confirms that it’s business as usual as his team looks to re-claim the Supercars crown from the Ford Mustangs of DJR Team Penske.

“We have got a contract with Holden and we're going racing with them. Right now we’ve got to get on with the business at hand, which is going racing this weekend in Adelaide,” says Dane.

“At the moment we’ve just thinking about supporting our colleagues at Holden and the dealers. We’ll work out where we go from here as we move along.”

Dane refuses to discuss any of the details surrounding the decision by General Motors to shut the Holden shop, but confirms the future of the ZB Commodore racer and his team.

“I’m not going to discuss the ins and outs of it for the moment. Just reflect on the announcement today. We are sad about the end of an iconic brand,” Dane says.

“Our contract runs until the end of 2021. It was renewed last year for a further two years.”

The only comment on racing from Holden headquarters at Fishermens Bend is a statement through the company’s official Facebook page.

“We will begin discussions with the organisers and Supercars and Red Bull Holden Racing Team. We will update you on these discussions at the appropriate time,” it says.

“We are aware of our commitment and we will work through with Red Bull Holden Racing Team the implications of this decision.”

Dane says the death of Holden does not give any extra impetus to his team for the coming season.

“Nothing changes. Nothing at all. To say anything else would be to say we were not doing a good enough job in the first place, which is not true at all.

“Our position right now is clear. Its’s one of the biggest announcements in the history of the motor industry and motorsport in Australia and it needs to be absorbed and talked about with proper reflection.”

Triple Eight, the parent company of the RBHRT, celebrated its 10th year with Holden in 2019 and has been the official red lion representative since the car-maker ended a previous alliance with the Walkinshaw organisation which began when it won the rights to Holden’s special vehicles’ business from Peter Brock in the 1980s.

Dane’s own association with General Motors goes back to the 1990s in the UK, where Triple Eight operated the official factory team for Vauxhall, the Holden equivalent in Britain.

The Holden closure triggers more questions than answers, at least for the moment, but Dane is stepping around any speculation.

“It’s far too early,” he says, pointing to the contract he hopes Holden will honour.

The two-year extension the of RBHRT deal coincided with plans by Supercars to move to a new technical platform for 2022 and beyond, most likely focussed on two-door coupes and with some form of hybrid system to boost their V8 engines.

Supercars had previously been working closely with both Holden and Ford on its Gen3 program but things will now obviously change, although there is no comment yet on the future.

“Today’s news is understandably disappointing for fans who have followed Holden’s success in Australian Touring Cars and Supercars since its debut in the 1960s,” says a Supercars statement.

“Holden has been firmly part of the heritage of our sport and has helped shape Supercars to become the sport it is today.”

Holden cars from the Monaro through the Torana and Commodore have won a total of 21 Australian Touring Car and Supercars championship titles and scored 33 wins in the Bathurst 500 and 1000 at Mount Panorama.