Spirit of HRT to live on in Walkinshaw team
Team Red is not dead after all. The spirit of the old Holden Racing Team will live on in the new name and look of Walkinshaw Racing's Supercars squad.
To be unveiled on Monday morning, the Walkinshaw team's pair of Holden Commodore V8 racers will retain key cues from their 26-year reign as the Holden Racing Team.
Walkinshaw racing boss Ryan Walkinshaw.Credit:Jesse Marlow
The cars will be predominantly red and display a version of the lion and helmet logo that was HRT's emblem.
Both were signatures of HRT, but they are missing from the new Triple Eight-run Holden Racing Team.
The dominant Triple Eight operation has taken over as Holden's sole factory-backed team, fielding the Commodores of reigning Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen and six-time title-winner Jamie Whincup under the Red Bull Holden Racing Team banner.
The change has upset Holden racing fans because the new-look HRT cars are mainly dark blue and don't wear the famous lion and helmet graphic.
HRT under the custodianship of Walkinshaw Racing was also known as Team Red because it featured Holden's corporate colour and was the brand's flagship V8 team, despite being overshadowed by Triple Eight in recent years.
WR is hoping to retain a large slice of the big following it had as HRT by retaining red and a version of the lion/helmet logo in its new guise as an independent Holden team.
It is understood it has become Mobil 1 HSV Racing, combining title backing from the fuel and lubricants giant – a long-time HRT sponsor – with Walkinshaw's HSV performance road car division, which has recently renewed its deal to produce enhanced versions of standard Holden models.
The HSV emblem is a variation of the rampant lion and racing helmet logo it shared with HRT when they were Walkinshaw stablemates.
The team's title also recalls the successful HSV Dealer Team, which ran alongside HRT from 2005-2007, operating out of the same base at Clayton in southeast Melbourne, and won back-to- back Supercars championships in 2006/07.
The Walkinshaw-run Commodores to be raced this year by re-signed Supercars star James Courtney and new signing Scott Pye will be shown for the first time in an online reveal that will go live on Monday.
"It's an exciting way to launch our new brand," team owner Ryan Walkinshaw told Fairfax Media at the Bathurst 12 Hour, where Walkinshaw Racing is running a pair of factory backed Porsche 911 GT3s.
"It will be a new identity. It's an opportunity to showcase who we are and what we're about."
Walkinshaw confirmed the team would have a new title sponsor joining some of the previous HRT backers who have stayed on.
Although unlikely to immediately replace the more than $2 million a year Holden contributed, the removal of the commercial restrictions that came with being the Holden Racing Team enables the Walkinshaw team to exploit new outside sources of revenue.
"We appreciated being HRT and are disappointed that era's over, but we have a lot to look forward to," Walkinshaw said. "This new chapter opens up a whole lot of new opportunities."
After a long slump, the Walkinshaw-run HRT recovered to become a front-runner late last season, winning the Sandown 500 and season-ending Sydney 500 with veteran driver Garth Tander, who has left to rejoin Garry Rogers Motorsport.
HRT finished second behind Triple Eight in the 2016 teams' championship and Walkinshaw is confident the new-look operation will maintain that momentum when the Supercars championship resumes at the March 4-5 Adelaide 500.
"The team is competitive," he said. "Our expectation is to continue to improve. We're not here to finish mid-field."
Walkinshaw is also confident the new combination of Courtney and underrated DJR Team Penske reject Pye is the pairing to re-establish the new-look team as a consistent front-runner.
"Certainly, with James Courtney's car, the expectation is high because he has no excuses. He knows our cars and he's used to them," he said. "With Scott, it will take a little more time.
"It's a different car [Pye switching from Falcon to Commodore] and he needs to get used to it, so the expectations will be a little lower at first. We'll do everything possible to bring him up to speed quickly."
As well as continuing in Supercars, Walkinshaw will again run at least one Porsche 911 GT3 in the Australian GT championship.