T18 FIRMS FOR HT

The future of the Chevrolet teams in Supercars is still on hold more than two months after the bombshell defection of Triple Eight Race Engineering to Ford.

There have been pitches from teams, and a string of meetings, but no firm plan has emerged yet from General Motors in either Australia or the USA.

Planned media briefings, presumably to announce a new Homologation Team, have been postponed.

The latest date for an official announcement is set for April 17.

Even so, everything now points to Team 18 becoming the new Homologation Team for Chevrolet.

Charlie Schwerkolt's outfit was originally thought to be a shoe-in for a switch from Chevrolet to Toyota in 2026, becoming the second squad alongside Brand T's Homologation Team, Walkinshaw Andretti United.

But, despite his company's close ties to Toyota as the biggest forklift operator in Australia, Schwerkolt and his team principal Adrian Burgess decided they preferred to stay with Chevrolet and push for a promotion.

The move put them into a straight fight with Peter Xiberras and PremiAir Racing.

But the drawn-out process and the lack of a firm early commitment from GM, including a big bag of cash, has skewed the situation.

Pitlane insiders say Xiberras has gone cold on the idea of becoming the Homologation Team, leaving the track clear for Team 18.

There are now endless rumours, most recently during the GT race meeting at Phillip Island last weeekend, that Schwerkolt has done a deal.

But there is much more to the story, as previously revealed by Race.news

GM is expected to take a very different approach to its future in Supercars, relying on ace engineer Jeromy Moore to handle all the engineering work for any future Chevrolet racing programs in Australia.

That would mean any Homologation Team would have a much reduced role and would not need the engineering expertise which worked so well at Triple Eight through a string of programs for Holden and Chevrolet.

It would effectively mean that Moore, tapping into the vast motorsport resources at GM in the USA, would become the Homologation Team.

With the Chevrolet situation now looking clearer, with T18 expecting an upgrade and PremiAir staying with its Camaro coupes, the focus will soon switch on the plan for a second Toyota team.

Brad Jones has close ties to Neil Crompton, who was the power in the pity to bring the Toyota Supra into Supercars, and could now take pole position to join the WAU effort.

But, even as veteran Warren Luff is expected to begin track testing of the Supra sometime towards the end of June, there is as much clarity from Toyota as there is from General Motors.