FEATURE: Holden’s milestone by the numbers

Speedcafe.com takes a look at the races, cars and drivers that have made up Holden’s 500 ATCC/V8 Supercars Championship race win milestone.

The manufacturer’s first race victory came in the ninth year of the Australian Touring Car Championship, scored by a Holden Monaro mounted Norm Beechey.

While it took 27 years to chalk up 100 victories, a dramatic increase in the amount of races per season in the past two decades and the advent of V8 Supercars has seen the next 400 won in just 20 years.

The company’s 100th, 400th and 500th wins have all been scored at Symmons Plains, which was also the scene of Beechey’s second victory in 1969.

Receiving official recognition from V8 Supercars following Shane van Gisbergen’s victory today, Holden Motorsport manager Simon McNamara paid tribute to all of those involved in the marque’s success.

“We sincerely thank each and every one of the many Holden team members and drivers who have contributed to reaching today’s unprecedented 500^th championship race win,” he said.

“Holden’s record 500 championship race wins have come from many different eras and formulas, from Improved Production, to Group C, the Group A world category, the V8-only regulations, to today’s Car of the Future platform.

“We are extremely proud of Holden’s ability to tackle the changes of each era head on and successfully meet their challenges.”

Red Bull team owner Roland Dane also stressed his pride at bringing the 500th win to Holden, six years after his team’s high profile switch from Ford.

Triple Eight has won 95 races since joining the red camp in 2010 having earlier scored 50 with Ford.

“I am extremely proud that it was Triple Eight Race Engineering and Red Bull Racing Australia that brought up Holden’s 500th championship race win,” Dane said.

“My relationship with General Motors goes back over 20 years and it is a privilege to race under the Holden umbrella, and very special to bring the 500th victory to the brand.”

The Holden Racing Team remains the marque’s most successful with 178 wins to its credit.

Holden milestone victories

1. Norm Beechey, Holden HK Monaro GTS 327, Surfers Paradise, QLD, Sunday, 31 August 1969

100. Craig Lowndes, Holden Racing Team VR Commodore, Symmons Plains, TAS, Sunday, 17 March 1996

200. Todd Kelly, Holden Young Lions VT Commodore, Canberra, ACT, Sunday, 11 June 2000

300. Mark Skaife, Holden Racing Team VZ Commodore, Pukekohe, NZ, Sunday, 23 April 2006

400. Jamie Whincup, Team Vodafone VE II Commodore, Symmons Plains, TAS, Sunday, 13 November 2011

500. Shane van Gisbergen, Red Bull Racing Australia VF Commodore, Symmons Plains, TAS, Saturday, 2 April 2016

Milestone durations

1st to 100th: 9696 days or 26 years, 6 months, 18 days

100th to 200th: 1548 days or 4 years, 2 months, 26 days

200th to 300th: 2143 days or 5 years, 10 months, 13 days

300th to 400th: 2031 days or 5 years, 6 months, 22 days

400th to 500th: 1603 days or 4 years, 4 months, 21 days

100th to 500th: 7322 days, or 20 years, 17 days

Holden wins by nameplate

Holden wins by model

Holden wins by driver

ATCC/V8SC wins by manufacturer