MOTORSPORT: Sydney Holden Commodore Supercars team confirmed

A New two-car Holden Commodore Supercars team will be based out of Sydney in 2020.

Confirmed on the eve of practice kicking off for the Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama, it will be formed from a variety of assets including Gold Coast-based Tekno Autosports.

It will be the first Supercars squad to be based out of the harbour city since 2003.

The 2010 Supercars champion James Courtney has been confirmed as one driver for the two-car squad, which will campaign Commodores sourced from Triple Eight Race Engineering.

Courtney is moving from Walkinshaw Andretti United to take up his new drive.

Key players in the new set-up are Tekno’s father and son ownership duo Steve and Jonathon Webb and Sydney motor-racing identity and racer Rod Salmon.

“I am a Penrith boy, and Jon is from Sydney so in many ways it’s a coming home for us,” said Courtney. “The Western Sydney fanbase haven’t had their own team to get behind for a long time, so I’m excited to work with the Webbs and their partners to build something new.

“Together, with the right partners and equipment we’re going to work hard to make Sydney proud,” he said.

The other team driver is yet to be confirmed, but Kiwi Richie Stanaway has been mentioned in dispatches, along with development series driver Jack Smith.

Both come with sponsorship; Stanaway from the telecoms supplier Boost Mobile and Smith from the family-owned transport business, SCT logistics.

Former racer and motor racing administrator Damien White has also been linked with the team, as former Holden sponsorship boss Simon McNamara.

The lure to set up the team in Sydney is the $33 million investment the NSW state government is ploughing into Sydney Motorsport Park. By 2021, the team will have state of the art facilities to move into at the track, but it will be based out of temporary facilities in 2020.

“Our collective aim is to position the team as a key component in the strategy of creating a Sydney Motorsport hub, and it was important for us to embrace that right from the start,” Jonathon Webb said.

Webb - who will co-drive the Tekno Holden entry alongside Jack le Brocq this weekend - and Courtney are understandably looking forward to 2020 because the chance of either of their teams getting to the front at Bathurst is miniscule.

Tekno has collapsed from the 2016 Bathurst winner to a backmarker riven by dissent, while WAU has had a horror season that included losing its naming rights sponsor.

The focus at Mount Panorama will instead be on the factory Ford Mustangs and Holden Commodores and whether the latest aerodynamic changes to the latter have delivered it a crack at beating the Ford in this weekend’s Bathurst 1000 classic?

Throughout the season, the Mustang’s advantages have been pared back and the aerodynamic downforce of the ZB and Nissan Altima increased,

Track action kicks off today (Thursday) with three 60 minute practice sessions. The forecast is for record-breaking pace and by the time the three 60 minute practice sessions on Thursday are over, a new record might have been set.

Two more 60 minute sessions on Friday are followed by a single 40 minute qualifying session, from which the top 10 progress to Saturday evening’s shoot out.

Weather could throw a spoke in the plans of teams though, with rain forecast Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The weather forecast is good for Sunday. The 161 lap starts on Sunday at 11.30am, the latest time the race has ever commenced.

So who are the contenders for the win?

The form driver and the form car in the field must be at least equal favourites to win the race. A huge championship points leads has given him the freedom to go all-out for his first 1000 win. Car is fast and he is in stunning form. McLaughlin is expected to qualify on pole and shatter the lap record in the process – weather permitting. What could trip up progress? Engine failure cost this duo two years ago, but DJR Team Penske rarely lets an error happen twice. If the co-drivers are required at any stage to produce ultimate pace then Frenchman Premat may be exposed. Maybe by only a few tenths of a second per lap, but it may be enough.

The Commodore’s aerodynamic downforce upgrade should bring it closer to the Mustang across the top of the mountain. Van Gisbergen is McLaughlin’s equal in terms of talent and hungry to claim his first ever win in the 1000. His co-driver is a Bathurst legend who should still be a full-timer in the field. A ruthless, hard, blazingly fast combo that’s hard to go past for the win.
Issues? Potentially having to stack and lose time in pitlane as the sister car of Whincup/Lowndes is also amongst the fastest in the field.

What an intriguing match-up. Won Bathurst three-times in a row before Supercars decided team-mates could not drive together in the enduros. Lowndes has carried on winning regularly since then while Whincup has endured years of bizarre bad luck and weird mishaps. A win for this duo would be no surprise.
Stacking concern applies as above.

Mostert is a gun who won from the back of the grid in 2014 and then suffered horrendous season-ending injuries in a qualifying crash in 2015. Moffat is extremely capable and more than capable of doing super-fast laps. Tickford Racing has good and bad Bathursts, so if this is a good one then these two should be the front-runners for the four-car squad.

If not for Reynolds’ weird leg cramp last year this pairing would be coming back looking for their third straight win in 2019. ‘Crazy Dave’ is a potential pole qualifier and our man Youlden prides himself on showing up the other co-drivers. Chief engineer and strategist Al McVean is among the smartest people in the pit garages. A real chance.

Coulthard has faded from the light after a strong start to 2019. But the Mustang should be strong, he is always good at Bathurst and D’Alberto will back him up ably. Would be a surprise if they won, but not if they scored a podium result.

These guys might still be a chance in the last hour:

Nick Percat/Tim Blanchard (Brad Jones Racing Holden Commodore): Percat is in hot form and the Albury team’s Holdens have real pace. Podium a big opportunity, but a win is long odds.

Scott Pye/Warren Luff (Walkinshaw Andretti United Holden Commodore): No matter how sh1t the rest of the season is, this pair always shine at Bathurst.

Cam Waters/Michael Caruso (Tickford Racing Ford Mustang): Waters is a young gun on the rise, Caruso has vast experience. Monster Mustang is fast.

Mark Winterbottom/Steven Richards (Team 18 Holden Commodore): Lots of experience, good gear and people, but in first year new operation might strike issues.