The future of the Holden Racing Team was put in jeopardy when parent company General Motors announced it would cease production operations in Australia in December, but according to a report from The Herald Sun, the Port Melbourne-based automaker is set to seal a deal with HRT and reaffirm its interests in V8 Supercars.
The future of Ford in V8 supercars is still in the air, but Holden is now certain to continue onward in the series, battling against rival manufacturers like Nissan and Volvo. The announcement comes as more positive news for the factory racing outfit after former champion Garth Tander recently announced he would stay with the team, despite rumors which suggested otherwise.
“It’s great to sign a new deal with the Holden Racing Team,” Tander told The Herald Sun. “It’s an exciting time for the team, with the structural changes made before the start of the season starting to bear fruit. I really believe in what we’re doing.”
Comments
Thank God I was worried Holden Racing would be driving Volvo’s! Not!
This is a hint that there will be a future here and a car to be involved in the series.
I do not see Ford leaving either. This is the key series for the MFG for marketing motorsports in Australia.
Ford don’t have anything they can race after Falcon is gone. Mondeo/Fusion is too small and Mustang has too many doors and won’t be aerodynamic enough. Rumour had it that the AMG customer team, Erebus, would become a Volvo backed team. So I guess Volvo Aus is looking to increase its presence in V8SC. I wouldn’t be surprised if DJR end up with Volvo. FPR will die but the team members will be hired by other teams.
With the rules as they are now and not being based on a actual production car they can bring in what ever they like to race working with the governing race series. This is what NASCAR has done for years.
To us it is racing to them it is a business so there are no hard fast rules.
I think the series saw this coming a long time ago and that is why the went to the more shared platform and also looked to bring in the other MFG. This is what NASCAR did as they saw the loss of RWD coupes and that Chrysler was on the way out with many MFG from overseas being a solid part of the auto market it increases the marketing ability of all.
As for what team goes where it often depends on the technical support and the money as to who goes where.
Either way I expect a Ford to be adapted to the series in one shape or form and they will retain many of the teams they have.
While the series are not identical they have taken bits from each other and applied similar ideas for safety, marketing and controlling cost. the cost of racing is something all series is really looking at. Even F1.
The rules changed to have a common chassis and the road version of the car does not need to come with a V8 engine. There are still more rules than NASCAR. V8 Supercars won’t allow billboards on wheels with stickers of a car not worth racing (Camry and Fusion – really??? Thank god Mark Ruess has experienced the V8’s and new how valuable the Commodore is for motor sport).
Dearborn won’t allow Ford Aus the marketing budget and engineering budget either. Ford Aus can barely support FPR and DJR have no factory support now. Ford Aus won’t be able to prepare an entirely new car, even on a common chasis. Ford Aus’ marketing team is one of the worst in our industry. People are turning away from the brand simply because they’re fed up with their stupidity. In fact, the only people still supporting them are Falcon owners…. and they haven’t advertised the Falcon in over 2 years!!! NO JOKE. Falcon owners are giving them hell every day. Follow “Support the 2014 Falcon” on facebook and see the BS that Ford’s marketing team send him in hopes of stopping him from rallying his followers.
V8SC won’t make major changes to the rules just so Ford have something they can race. Fans are walking out after 2016. V8SC have Volvo, Nissan and Holden/GM racing under current laws and they will continue to race (subject to GM importing a 2018 Chevy SS). Fiat-Chrysler Australia are working on getting the Chrysler 300 in as well. They just can’t meet aerodynamic requirements. They settle as being the safety car provider.
I’m curious, why do you keep talking about the aerodynamic aspect. V8SC never really run at speeds where aero makes a difference. They barely run fast enough/in clean enough air to really take advantage of downforce.
Second, looking aerodynamic does not equal actually aerodynamic. Plus the cars aren’t even “factory” spec bodies anyway – they are little more than silhouette racers now.
Whether aerodynamics are at play or not, V8SC have aerodynamic standards that need to be met and right now the Chrysler 300 doesn’t meet them.
The future of the series is indeed very questionable once there are no more locally built Falcadores so enjoy it as it is whilst it lasts. I actually forgot the V8s were coming to Perth this weekend until yesterday and can’t make it so that sucks for me as we only get one round a year. lol. I’ll put it in my calendar for next season.
Ah there is a lot more in play here.
There is a lot of interest in this series not only down under but else where now. It is very popular here in America as I sit here looking at my Toll Holden hat.
Note they ran a race here last year and it was not just an accident. There are a lot of people who would like to see this series expanded. I am not sure how but it has the interest of some very powerful people and companies.
Note too there has been talk here that Roger Penske is looking to enter the series. We have heard it was trough Ford at last call since that is who he is with in NASCAR.
The key is the new cars as they can make nearly any car viable in the series with the shared chassis. While I hate to see the stock based part leave the series it will provide a viable way to bring more MFG in and make more cars not normally open to the rules viable.
Lets face it the Camry here has nothing to do with stock but it lets the Toyota in the series even if the car is stock with FWD and no V8 option.
The key is with technology as it is and the stock market as it is the key to a viable racing series anymore is close competition and entertainment.
F1 is one of the few yet that can get away with out a lot of passing but even they have tried to change that in the last few years as the strategy alone is not as interesting as it once was.
The door is open with the rules and there is still a lot of money and even more global exposure for the series so I would not count them dead yet.
Hell it is one of the few racing series that has grown in popularity in the last couple years.
Just the increase in TV coverage and interest in the USA is a major playing card here.
Get this series to run down under and some races here. Then cross the best drivers from there and here in NASCAR in each others races. This could lead to some very interesting racing.
Keep in mind if they could get the Euro series to conform to similar cars it could make for a amazing series.
Note their key is while not cheap they are a lot cheaper than most racing and keeping cost in check is the strength of any racing series right now. Even F1 understands that with their engine rules.
Ok thanks Scott I didn’t know about all that. While its good to hear there is a lot of interest in the series it does somewhat concern me. Like I said where I am from we only get one race a year. We are over 2000kms away from the next major city, pretty much surrounded by vast desert and ocean which makes it a logistical challenge to get the V8 supercars show here. Should overseas interests throw their money in we could be on the losing end of the stick along with other Australian races if more priority has to be given to having rounds overseas. But I guess that is what may need to happen for the series to survive in the long term.
Michael
For better or worse it is much like what NASCAR has faced over the years.
It once was much like your series but it has had to adapt to changing cars, technology, corporate participation and level of fan expectation.
Here we all have our favorite era some the 60’s some the 80 and some love today. They all had their good and bad points but to survive a racing series has to continue to change and evolve.
One of the most pure series here was our Trans Am series in the late 60’s but it died do to the lack of changes. Same for the later version in the 80’s.
If you look at the oldest series they have had to change and adapt over the years. Even the great ones like F1, Indy NASCAR and a few others have had to make the changes to live on.
That is the cross road this series is at. It is to the point it has to adapt to other ways to live or it will vanish much like Can Am, Trans Am and other series. Some burn bright and then burn out as they did not look for ways to maintain the interest of the MFG and fans. It is sad sometimes the purity of it is lost but that is the price you pay for moving forward.
I hated to see the common chassis but due to cost and the entrance of the MFG along with safety it was needed. the key is to keep working on it as NASCAR did with the COT car. It was the right idea but the wrong design. They did not let it go and made the changes to the present car that now are doing very well. At his point most people are happy again from behind the wheel to those in the stands.
Running a successful racing series is like balancing a marble on the tip of a needle. It is not easy and you have to really work at it but some can do it.
While I know it may take away some from your market I would like to see a couple more races here in the states. We gave you CART for a few year you can return the favor. LOL!
You guys have a good product and could do well with some exporting of it.
If they can build up races globally they may be able to race local and then for a global championship.
Why would V8SC change their rules so a manufacturer who has barely committed to the category for a number of years now and hasn’t bothered to update their cars to match the production cars (Falcons are still FG MK1’s) can field a car or two. V8 Supercars saw Ford giving up a long time ago (before death of Commodore was considered, just the obvious lack of support from Dearborn) and knew an all Holden series wouldn’t work so they started the Car Of The Future project and adjusted the rules accordingly. Now we have GM/Holden represented through Walkinshaw Racing (4 cars), Triple 8 Race Engineering (2 cars), Brad Jones Racing (2 cars) and a few others as well as the odd independent, Nissan are represented through Nissan Motorsport Australia (formerly Kelly Racing. 4 cars), there is the Mercedes-Benz AMG customer team in Erebus Motorsport (2 cars) and this year we saw Volvo come on through Gary Rodgers Motorsport (2 cars). Prodrive run the factory backed fords with 3 or 4 cars and Dick Johnson Racing has no support from Ford and has 2 or 3 cars – THAT’S ALL THE FALCONS. Both Chrysler and Hyundai have been linked to racing in V8 Supercars. At one point even Audi was mentioned in the Motorsport media as being a possible entry. V8 Supercars are also one of if not the best Touring Car series on Earth. Only DTM can rival them but they aren’t as entertaining as V8SC imo. V8SC can and will survive no matter what. The support for Volvo when they finished 3rd and the support for Erebus when they finished 1st was unbelievable. V8SC fans are shifting to be more like Nascar fans and following the drivers more than the cars they drive.
Matt as we have been through this with SCCA, IMSA , ALMS, Indy Car and NASCAR you have to keep the door open to all makes and models anymore as at anytime one or more can pull out.
A racing series needs more than one MFG involved and in larger series like this they need more than one to support the teams for full fields.
You may have a bitter taste about Ford and others but the series needs them more than they need the series most times.
NASCAR was an American brand series for years but with a fast pull out of Chrysler Toyota has help fill the void. I hated to see it but it was need for long term survival. GM and Ford was not going to help fill out the grid.
Honda has also looked but has not decided the time was right yet but NASCAR would work with them to help get them in if they were willing to spend the money.
Even if they do not keep Ford the more open rules will let any others come in. Lets face it if hey had stuck to the old rule it would have been Ford and GM or what was left of their team at best.
Yes the Drivers will become more the stars of the series but even I NASCAR MFG branding has not gone away.
Like I stated a racing series is always in flux and you have to keep the teams happy, MFG happy TV happy with close competition and you must keep it all in balance or the series will go away fast.
Right now NHRA Pro classes are in trouble. Most of the factory Support is gone. Even Ford has left John Force Racing along with Castrol. He is he face of NHRA racing today. But the NHRA has failed in good racing, Failed in a good TV package and failed to keep the fans coming back. Many of the older drivers have some good ideas but I am not sure the NHRA will listen. The real key is to reduce the cost and find a way to get back to the 14 mile.
As it is now all series are I decline but some like NHRA an Indy are I real trouble. Just watch the 500 this year a Indy and see the empty seats that they will have eve giving away a lot of tickets. It shows even the greatest spectacle can have issues.
The thing with the series down under is it is a good product and they can grow it but they need to make the right moves. In this economy it is difficult but they can do it. The first step is to gain and keep as many MFG as possible as the more the stronger the series will remain and more profitable it will become.