Finally, it’s been confirmed Team 18 will be the homologation partner for General Motors in the Repco Supercars Championship starting next year.
General Motors has recently bolstered its workforce to include Jeromy Moore since Triple Eight Race Engineering confirmed its defection to Ford Performance, with Team 18 now set to be its replacement in Queensland squad’s current role.
“Our motorsport activities around the world are driven by three things; our passionate customers and fans, our cutting-edge technical innovation, and our incredible people.” says Dr. Eric Warren, Executive Director of Global Motorsports Competition.
“Whether it’s Supercars, or any other race series that Chevrolet competes in across the globe, we are there to win, and we’re looking forward to working with Team 18 and all the Chevy Camaro teams in any way we can, to achieve that goal.”
General Motors Motorsports will take on the responsibility of ensuring the competitiveness of the race car and the engine used, while collaboration between the Chevrolet teams will be fostered in addition to providing a connection back to GM Motorsports. This will be through providing opportunities outside of Supercars to its drivers namely into NASCAR.
Further to this, all the Chevrolet teams including Team 18 will have access to GM Motorsports’ vast technical resources including state-of-the-art development and engineering advancements comprising of AI, machine learning, simulations plus more.
This announcement re-enforces GM’s commitment to Supercars 55-years after one of its products first won the Australian Touring Car Championship.
GM has had an incredible 60-plus-year history of success in Supercars racing in Australia and New Zealand, and we know that Supercars fans love the Chevrolet brand”, Jess Bala, Managing Director GM Australia and New Zealand (GM ANZ) said.
“Participation in Supercars also enables us to showcase our GMSV portfolio, which includes the purpose-built Silverado, the performance of the Corvette range, and the new GMC Yukon Denali, which will be launched in the coming months.
“But we also just love the series, the excitement, the fans, and the racing.”
Team 18 is somewhat a surprise choice after PremiAir Racing was believed to be leading the running, however this changed late and led to the announcement being delayed.
Team 18 led by Charlie Schwerkolt has won multiple races since switching to GM product in 2016 and will now spearhead Chevrolet’s efforts.
“Today marks an exciting new chapter for Team 18 Racing. There is no doubt that these are big shoes to fill, but I believe we have the team, the machinery, and the talent to do it,” Schwerkolt said.
“GM and Chevrolet Racing are a powerhouse for a reason, and everyone, at every level, has been fantastic in welcoming our team to the fold. I know we share the same vision, and the same goal — to work closely with GM and all the other Chevy teams to see a Chevrolet Camaro cross the line first every race weekend.”
KRE Race Engines will continue to handle the development and supply of the Chevrolet Racing LTR V8 engines for the Supercars teams.