MOTORSPORT: Holden to exit Supercars at Bathurst

GM Holden has reached agreement with its Supercars racing partner Triple Eight Race Engineering to conclude their deal one-year early at the end of the current season.

As the Supercars calendar stands at the moment, the last time a factory Holden touring car will start a race will be at Mount Panorama next February.

The venue is appropriate because Holden’s factory racing efforts have been intrinsically linked with the mountain since the Holden Dealer Team debuted with a win in 1969. Holden has been a constant in Australian sedan racing ever since.

Triple Eight, which races under the Red Bull Holden Racing Team banner, had a contract with Holden that ran until the end of the 2021 Supercars season.

But the decision by Holden’s US parent General Motors last February to kill off the brand and pull out of Australia prompted a re-negotiation.

The two RBHRT Holden Commodore ZBs driven by Jamie Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen will represent the brand through the rest of the current season, which resumes after a coronavirus-enforced layoff at Sydney Motorsport Park in late June.

The championship is then scheduled to run into early 2021, concluding with a rare sprint race at Mount Panorama. However, the calendar is subject to change and some Supercars stakeholders believe the championship will wrap in this calendar year.

Triple Eight swapped from Ford to Holden for the 2010 season and by 2017 was the sole Holden factory team. It also developed the ZB Commodore for Supercars racing.

While Holden departs at the end of the current season, Commodore Supercars will continue to race on in 2021 and perhaps beyond. Currently, there are 16 ZBs on the grid.

Ford is now the only manufacturer active in Supercars, backing eight Mustangs.

Supercars hopes to gain approval from GM to run a facsimile of the Chevrolet Camaro against the Mustang. It is also developing new Gen3 technical rules scheduled for introduction in 2022.

In an unusual move for such a significant announcement in Australian motorsport history, the Holden and T8 statements confirming the revised agreement were supplied to the motorsport website speedcafe.com as an exclusive.

Questioned as recently as yesterday about progress of an agreement with Holden, T8 boss Roland Dane told carsales: “We’ll see in due course, as you know they have had plenty on their plate.”

Holden said in statement: “Holden is pleased to have reached an amicable contract settlement with Triple Eight Race Engineering, and we along with everyone else are looking forward to seeing race cars on the track again soon.

“Motorsport has made an enormous contribution to the Holden brand and we are very proud of those on track achievements that can never be erased.

“Holden and Triple Eight have achieved a lot together since 2010 and that is something that we sincerely hope continues for the rest of this season. We are seriously excited about the opportunity to make some more history.

“The Red Bull Holden Racing Team started the year with a win in Adelaide, and we were incredibly grateful to Jamie Whincup and the entire RBHRT for dedicating that victory to the staff of Holden and its dealers.

“Holden is thankful to all the Commodore teams for their commitment and support, but particularly Triple Eight who have been fantastic partners.

We all want to see the winning continue and what better way than a victory at Bathurst and a Supercars championship to send the Holden brand off in style.”

Triple Eight said in statement: “GM Holden and Triple Eight Race Engineering have reached an amicable agreement in the wake of Holden’s announcement that the manufacturer will be closing later this year.

“The settlement, the details of which are commercially confidential, will see the Red Bull Holden Racing Team remain on the grid in its present guise until the end of the current Virgin Australia Supercars Championship season. The existing contract had been due to expire at the end of 2021.

“The two powerhouses of Australian motor racing joined forces in 2010, winning on debut in Abu Dhabi and going on to claim a one-two finish in the Bathurst 1000 in the same year. In total, Holden and Triple Eight together have claimed eight teams’ championships, six drivers’ titles and four Bathurst 1000 victories.

“The future branding of Triple Eight’s Supercars team is yet to be determined, with the current contract between co-title partner Red Bull and Triple Eight in place until at least the end of the 2021 season.

“The whole team at Triple Eight extends their heartfelt thanks to Holden, all Holden employees past and present with whom we’ve interacted, and the dealer network for their incredible support and friendship over the past decade. The team is totally committed to delivering the best possible results, both on and off the track, for the remainder of the season.”