Volvo 'positive' about V8 Supercars

Volvo has given the strongest signal yet that it wants to continue in V8 Supercars racing beyond its current deal with Garry Rogers Motorsport which expires at the end of the 2016 season.

And while the move to Gen2 technical regulations for the category from 2017 would allow the Chinese-owned Swedish manufacturer to move to a six-cylinder or four-cylinder turbocharged engine, the current 5.0-litre naturally-aspirated V8 would likely be retained by the program.

The promising news was delivered by Hans Baath, the marketing and sales manager of Volvo’s now wholly-owned global motorsport and performance car division, Polestar, at last weekend’s Gold Coast 600.

“This is a championship we definitely want to be in,” Baath said. “It has been part of our discussions and part of the reason I am here is to discuss the future of the program.”

Baath described the discussion as “positive” and then added: “There is a real chance (of continuing in V8 Supercars). Absolutely.

“We love the racing here. I keep on saying it, for the spectators and for the sponsors it is a phenomenal championship. So obviously we want to see it continue.

“From Polestar’s perspective, supporting our performance partners, this is an important ingredient in Volvo."

Australia was the first market to launch the Polestar S60 road car and a V70 version of the turbo six-cylinder is also offered here. Polestar’s model portfolio will expand from 2016.

Baath emphasised he was not speaking on behalf of Volvo Car Australia. VCA managing director Kevin McCann was on the Gold Coast, but was called back to Sydney early and was not available for comment.

“This is a national championship and the business case has to be built in Australia. So if we together with Kevin – or Volvo Cars Australia – can build a solid business case that we really see supports sales then it is very easy for me to support Kevin to continue.”

The news will please the management at V8 Supercars, which has made it clear the changes being introduced with Gen2 are designed to keep the current crop of manufacturers locked into the category, while potentially enticing one or two more.

At the moment there are five brands represented in V8 Supercars but none have committed beyond 2016. Holden is thought to be closest to locking in using the next-generation imported Commodore body allied with a V6 twin-turbocharged engine.

Nissan, like Volvo, has the category under consideration, while Ford cuts its last minimal ties with Prodrive at the end of this season. The Mercedes-AMG program run by Betty Klimenko’s Erebus Motorsport has no connection with the German factory.

Lexus recently decided not to get involved in 2017 after an extensive review (LINK).

Volvo is moving to a four and three-cylinder engine line-up in its production cars, but Baath said that wouldn’t have to be replicated by the Australian racing program.

“It is not a prerequisite,” he said. “I think we are definitely interested in where it (Gen2) is going. If it takes off in 2017 or 2018 and manufacturers jump on it, then I think we will let the future decide that. We can continue with the setup as we have it."

There have been plenty of question marks over the Volvo V8 Supercar program since its spectacular 2014 inception and Kiwi flier Scott McLaughlin’s heroics, which included four race wins, 10 pole positions and fifth place in the championship in the S60.

This year, he has been hampered by reliability issues and been unable to win a race, while for the past two years, his team-mates, Robert Dahlgren (2014) and David Wall (2015) have not been able to drag their cars off the back of the grid.

For 2016, McLaughlin gets his third team-mate in three years in James Moffat, who is regarded as an elite driver yet to have his potential truly tapped.

There have also been mixed signals about Volvo’s attitude toward the program, with McCann’s comments about the future relatively opaque. Global marketing boss Alain Visser last year declared the company was headed out of motorsport and made it clear he had no love for the V8 program in Australia.

But he was quickly howled down by other Volvo execs and has recently been shifted to Geely in China.

Volvo has also recently acquired Polestar from its founder Christian Dahl, who had played a key role in developing the unique V8 engine for the Australian program.

Dahl has since formed Cyan Racing, which continues to develop the V8 racing engine and has been appointed to take Volvo back into the World Touring Car Championship with the S60 in 2016.

Baath acknowledged the various question marks about Volvo’s attitude to motorsport and the Australian program, but made the point that Polestar’s mandate was to go racing.

“All our (Polestar’s) marketing activities are based on motorsport; next season we have the Swedish Touring Car Championship with two cars, seven races; we have the world touring car championship with two cars, 12 races; and we have V8 Supercars with two cars, 16 races.”