MOTORSPORT: Holden Commodore to race on

The ZB Holden Commodore will continue to race until the end of 2021.

Holden’s Supercars spearhead will survive the end of showroom sales next year and there are no plans for a GM back-down or replacement before a major rule change in 2022 that could bring another GM nameplate into Australian touring car racing.

“Nothing has changed. Nothing has changed in our world,” the head of the Red Bull Holden Racing Team, Roland Dane, tells carsales.

“The fact is that we have a deal for the next two seasons and the ZB will be on sale during one of those seasons and not the other.”

Holden is less than three months into a fresh two-year deal with Dane and his company, Triple Eight Race Engineering, which is the official homologation partner and major supplier for many Commodore racing components.

The team has already been flat-out over the past week with aero testing against the Ford Mustang to ensure technical parity and a downforce reduction for the 2020 season.

Dane hints that he could see the decision to kill the Commodore coming, although he is reluctant to do into any detail.

But technical information on the face-lifted Opel Insignia from Germany, which is rebadged and sold as the Commodore, points to major and costly changes to the car including a new electrical package.

Dane admits he is saddened by the decision to park the Commodore but understands the reasons.

“If that car had been made in Elizabeth it would have been selling like hotcakes. The car is extraordinary good value,” he says.

“It’s a victim of everyone wanting to drive around on stilts in SUVs.”

He confirms that the Commodore will race past its retirement date but says that is no different to the situation with the Ford Falcon, which competed after the shutdown of the Ford factory at Broadmeadows until the imported Mustang could be readied for Supercars.

“The fact is that the Falcon raced for two years after the end of production. We will run the Commodore for one year.”

Dane says it is too early to speculate on details of the Holden race plan, but he admits the Holden Racing Team name belongs to the carmaker and he is already working on a plan to compete with GM into 2022 and beyond.

“I hope so. If I’m still here and still alive, I hope so,” he says.

Dane has strong connections to GM in the USA, despite a failed plan to switch to a V6 turbo engine for the ZB Commodore in a joint venture with Detroit, and is working on future developments.

Supercars has yet to finalise the specification for what is called the ‘Gen3’ car for 2022 and beyond, but Dane is already ruling out the Chevrolet Camaro.

“I don’t think so, because the Camaro is not part of the regular Holden line.”

But he hints that something else from the GM family could be eligible for the Gen3 series.

“GM have got something else in mind for the Gen3. But it’s for them to comment, not me.”