Team 18 will be the General Motors “homologation partner” from next season as part of a restructuring of the American brand’s participation in the Supercars series.
Melbourne-based Team 18, founded by Charlie Schwerkolt, replaces Triple Eight Race Engineering, which will defect to Ford next season as the Blue Oval’s homologation team.
But General Motors has revealed it will retain responsibility for “the competitiveness of the race car and engine” as part of a new approach to competing in the sport.
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Until now both General Motors and Ford have relied on homologation teams for technical development, with Triple Eight and Dick Johnson Racing having undertaken the bulk of the work to prepare for the Gen3 regulations and to address subsequent parity issues.
Instead GM intends to foster a collaborative alliance among its remaining teams linking back to its global motorsport division in the United States to improve the brand’s competitiveness in Supercars, effectively bringing many of the homologation responsibility in-house.
Supercars rules require every manufacturer to nominate a homologation team.
As part of the centralised restructure, all Chevrolet teams will have access to General Motors US-based technical resources, including what the brand describes as “state-of-the-art development and engineering advancements” comprising artificial intelligence, machine learning and simulations.
General Motors also intends to connect Supercars drivers to NASCAR teams to create chances to race in the United States.
“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,” said 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.”
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The new manufacturer-centric approach has been enabled by former Triple Eight technical director Jeromy Moore switching from Banyo to General Motors in a blockbuster move announced earlier this year.
Moore was key to the homologation of the Chevrolet Camaro, which has been behind the two teams and drivers titles won in the Gen3 era.
“That is massive for GM,” Supercars legend Mark Skaife told Fox Sports last month. “I rate Jeromy at absolutely the pinnacle of engineering and race engineering in this country.
“He was the main person through all the Gen3 technical design of the vehicles, and he was the main person for Chevrolet and Camaro for General Motors in homologating the GM car.
“When that person is maintained under the GM wing, then that is a really significant part of the puzzle that will play out in General Motors’s favour.”
“For Jeromy to be leading that [technical process], that obviously stays in place, and it keeps the development pathway down the same line. That’s a really important part of what they’re doing.
“Motorsport is a mad chess game, but the chess game is essentially the people that you have to put in place to get the result, and that’s a really, really powerful statement from them.”
It also takes immediate pressure off privateer Tea
m 18 as it scales up to its new status, the squad having won just one race and recorded a best championship finish of sixth in its 12-plus years of participation.
Schwerkolt, whose team essentially becomes a touchpoint for this new structure, said he was looking forward to maintaining General Motors’s prestige in Australian motorsport.
“Today marks an exciting new chapter for Team 18 Racing,” he said. “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.
“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.”
General Motors Australia and New Zealand managing director Jess Bala said the new set-up underlines the brand’s commitment to Supercars.
“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,” she said.
“Participation in Supercars also enables us to showcase our [GM Specialty Vehicles] portfolio … but we also just love the series, the excitement, the fans, and the racing.”
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But the route to competitiveness in 2026 and beyond will be steep for General Motors, which will see Triple Eight’s significant race-winning experience leave the stable and join its historic rival at the end of the year.
Subtracting Banyo from the mix will leave General Motors with a maximum of five teams and 12 entries next season.
Without Triple Eight’s 264 wins, GM’s remaining teams would have just 40 victories between them.
But even those figures could be in doubt for the historically dominant GM brand, with rumours that as many as two of those remaining teams are being buttered up by other manufacturers.
Brad Jones Racing is reportedly considering taking its four entries to Toyota, which will enter the sport next year with Walkinshaw Andretti United as its foundation homologation team developing the Supra for Supercars.
PremiAir, meanwhile, is considering its options for 2026 after being passed over for General Motors homologation status, having reportedly been in the box seat for much of the process before a sudden change of direction.
“We’ve been with GM for a long time and since our beginning here in Supercars, and it has always been our goal to be the lead GM car on track,” a PremiAir spokesperson said, per V8 Sleuth.
“In saying that, we’re currently assessing what we’re going to do for 2026 onwards, what that relationship will look like.
“We are having significant investment in our future performance on the track, and it is a business; we have to actually look at all options that are available to us.
“Peter [Xiberras, owner] is emotionally attached to GM, but this is a business and we have to look at it as a business.
“What that will look like in 2026 at the moment we can’t say.”