Holden boss Kristian Aquilina says winning the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 in the marque’s final factory appearance is an ‘extra special’ achievement.

Earlier this year General Motors announced it would pull out of right-hand-drive markets, resulting in the demise of Holden.

As such, this year’s Bathurst 1000 marked the final time Holden had a factory-backed presence in the Great Race through the Red Bull Holden Racing Team.

Triple Eight Race Engineering signed off in style with the brand in an official factory capacity, winning the race with Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander.

“What a wonderful result for the Holden fans,” said Aquilina, Interim Chairman and Managing Director.

“Congratulations to Shane, Garth, Roland Dane (Team Principal) and the dedicated team at Triple Eight Race Engineering.

“Holden first claimed victory as a factory team at Bathurst over 50 years ago. This one is extra special, as it represents the final appearance of a Holden Factory sponsored team.

“On Sunday, I know that many of our wonderful supporters, past drivers, team members, dealers and staff would have been watching with great pride when Shane crossed that finish line.”

Aquilina reaffirmed plans for teams to continue running the Holden ZB Commodore in 2021 ahead of the introduction of Gen3 in 2022.

That will see the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 join the championship courtesy of an intellectual property deal between Supercars and General Motors Special Vehicles.

“Commodores will still race on in 2021,” said Aquilina.

“And we’re thrilled to continue our involvement in Supercars beyond next year, with the announcement that the Chevrolet Camaro will join the competition from 2022.”

Triple Eight Race Engineering has already confirmed plans to run the Camaro with the advent of Gen3.