WHY GM WILL CONTINUE TO RACE FORD IN SUPERCARS
A single sentence sets the direction for the future of General Motors in Supercars racing.
"The Camaro story is not over," a very senior source at General Motors told Race.news immediately following the explosive defection of Triple Eight Race Engineering from Chevrolet to Ford from the start of season 2026.
The sentence was simple, it was blunt and it was emphatic.
It says GM is not done with Australia's premier motorsport category, something expected to be emphasised later today (Thursday) when Jess Bala, the managing director of GM Special Vehicles sits down alongside the red team's motorsport boss Chris Payne for a media briefing at Sydney Motorsport Park.
The big question: Will General Motors use the loss of Triple Eight as the trigger to walk away from Supercars?
Based on the news from Detroit, and the frantic behind-the-scenes work going on in Australia, GM will stay.
But which car will carry its colours after the current Camaro, which is not even sold in Australia and goes out of production in 2025, is the big unknown.
What we know for now: GM SV was completely blind-sided by the Triple Eight news and, since then, it has been scrambling to get back on track.
It is looking to extend its contract with Supercars, which currently expires at the end of 2026.
It has interviewed all the potential contenders for a future role as the Homologation Team for the red side of Supercars, including Matt Stone Racing, Brad Jones Racing and Premiair Racing.
But Grove Racing, currently fielding Mustangs, is not considering any change of allegiance. "It's not for us," Stephen Grove told Race.news.
GM SV has taken direction from the USA on its motorsport commitment.
A future beyond 2026 will require extra spending, as well as access to expertise on engineering and wind tunnel work from the USA for whatever body shape follows the Camaro.
The future Supercars contender is likely to be linked to the next Chevrolet racer in NASCAR, a connection which tracks back to the last Holden Commodore – which was badged as the Chevrolet SS in the 'states – and the current Commodore.
How the Triple Eight deal happened: Midway through last year, the management team at Triple Eight began discussions and planning for its future in Supercars. With Roland Dane, the company founder and driving force, out of the picture, things changed.
Then came a chance meeting at Bathurst between Jamie Whincup and Ford's global motorsport boss, Mark Rushbrook. The fire was lit.
Things moved fast and part of the deal was T8 becoming the homologation team for Ford, replacing Dick Johnson Racing – which was not told.
"We are an engineering company. And engineering company that goes racing," one of the new T8 owners, Steve Blackmore, told Race.news.
Keeping the secret: The secrecy around the Triple Eight defection was even tighter than the control of the news last year that Toyota was finally coming to Supercars.
The drivers, Will Brown and Broc Feeney, were not told until a Zoom call from Jamie Whincup the day before the official announcement by Whincup and Rushbrook at Ford Performance Racing's global motorsport convention in North Carolina.
Triple Eight did not advise any of its sponsors, including Ampol and Red Bull Australia, although Red Bull global in Austria was given a heads-up.
On the day of the announcement, T8 staff were advised and given a backgrounder to use if they were asked questions.
The only leak on the news came in a story by motorsport veteran, Mark Fogarty. When he was invited to a Ford Australia event in Melbourne, and told he needed to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement, he sniffed a story and chased it down.
Why the T8 works for Ford: The blue oval brand has just eliminated its toughest rival on the track and also recruited the best engineering team in the history of Supercars.
"In terms of brand connection, we are an emotional brand. We don’t hide from that, in fact we lean into it. Mustangs, Raptors, and even Transit Sport…we are an emotive brand and we’re really proud of that," the president of Ford Australia, Andrew Birkic, told Race.news.
It also gets access to the promotion work by Red Bull, which is also tied to Ford through the Detroit company's work as a powertrain partner in Formula One.
“We’re both passion brands, so there’s great synergies there," says Birkic.
“Since the strategic technical partnership with Red Bull Powertrains was announced, we’ve started to collaborate locally on a couple of things, like when we launched the Mustang Mach-E at the Australian Grand Prix in 2023, and when Daniel Ricciardo got behind the wheel of the Supervan 4.2 last year.
"Seeing their operation in action is really remarkable – they’re incredibly good at what they do.”
Where from here: The dust is still settling with far more questions than answers.
Will GM SV continue its deal with Craig Lowndes as its brand ambassador?
Will the Triple Eight deal include GT3 Mustang sales in Australia?
Will the new Homologation Team for the reds be tasked with GT3 racing and a continuation of the off-road competition with the Chevrolet Silverado?
Will Motorsport Powertrains in Queensland continue to supply Coyote V8 engines for the Fords in Supercars, or will it switch to T8's long-term powertrain partner, KRE?