Craig Lowndes’ victory in the second race at Queensland Raceway has secured Holden an early V8 Manufacturers’ Award.
The award is given to the manufacturer that scores the most race wins in each season. So far this year, Holden has won 15 of the 17 races. Shane van Gisbergen’s has taken Ford’s only two wins of the year (at Hamilton and Hidden Valley).
Holden can thank TeamVodafone for the early trophy. The champion team has taken eight wins, with championship leader Jamie Whincup winning six races, while Lowndes’ two wins today sealed the award.
The other victors for The General include Garth Tander (2), Rick Kelly (2), Jason Bright (2) and James Courtney a single win.
“I’m really proud of this achievement,” GM Holden’s sponsorship manager Simon McNamara told Speedcafe.com.
“I don’t think anyone has ever won it this early. I’m very happy that our program is working.
“TeamVodafone has been the difference, but HRT has won races as well.
“Obviously HRT needs to lift a little bit at the moment, but the thing is that we have the right teams. OK, there are more Commodores in the field, but you only need one car to win.”
McNamara says that the award is a huge deal for Holden.
“For Holden, as a company and our employees, the guys on the line who are building our road cars, and our supporters of all of our associated brands in motor racing, it’s a very proud moment,” McNamara said.
“I’ll go back to the office and show 1200 employees that we have a trophy that represents our support of V8 Supercars and our racing in it.
“The bottom line is that we’re proud that we have won it. We want to win it every year. A couple of years ago, we didn’t win it, but we have it two years in a row now. It’s our trophy and something we want to win.
“Next year, we’ll try and win it in July!”
Holden will accept the Manufacturers’ Award at the end-of-season V8 gala dinner.
CLICK HERE to see Speedcafe.com’s race report from Queensland Raceway.
