Shop
Supercars is believed to have opened talks with a European manufacturer about potentially joining the championship under Gen3.
Speedcafe.com understands discussions have taken place, although details of which manufacturer have not yet come to light nor if and when they might join.
In a recent media roundtable, Supercars CEO Sean Seamer did not exactly move to shoot down what Speedcafe.com has learned, declining to elaborate due to the presence of a non-disclosure agreement.
“Yeah, I know that there is a lot of interest in that,” said Seamer.
“As I said to you before, I’m bound by an NDA on that.”
One team which has not yet indicated its commitment to a manufacturer under Gen3 is that of Walkinshaw Andretti United.
WAU had previously expressed an interest in bringing the Chevrolet Camaro to the championship.
However, that process has largely been taken out of its hands with Triple Eight Race Engineering the designated General Motors homologation team.
The Clayton-based outfit has long indicated it would like to bring a third manufacturer to Supercars.
Last year the team revealed it was close to signing a brand, although those plans were scuppered due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rumours around the time of the 2020 Adelaide 500 suggested serious talks had taken place with Jaguar.
Another manufacturer thought to be in the mix was Toyota.
Asked whether he had been privy to Supercars’ discussions with a third manufacturer, team boss Ryan Walkinshaw told Speedcafe.com, “No, unfortunately not.”
Nevertheless, Walkinshaw is still interested in bringing a third manufacturer to the grid.
“We’ve been talking about bringing in other manufacturers for quite some time,” Walkinshaw added.
“Our objective would still be to explore that. Until we actually know what the options are for Gen3 then we’re not going to commit to anything.
“There’s still a fair bit of information that we need to see before we understand what we’ll be doing going forward.
“We’re still waiting for information from Supercars. I can’t really give you timelines as that’s not something I’m really in control of.”
Supercars is set to introduce the new Gen3 platform midway through 2022 with the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro set to be the championship’s hero cars.
Sydney Motorsport Park is currently slated to host the first Supercars event with the new-look cars.
While there has been conjecture up and down pit lane as to whether the cars will be ready in time, Walkinshaw is optimistic.
“Am I confident? I don’t see why I wouldn’t be confident,” said Walkinshaw.
“They’ve said they’re going to do it and they’ve added the additional time to be able to achieve the work that needs to be done. So, yeah, I don’t see why we wouldn’t.
“I would’ve struggled to have confidence that we would have had it all ready for next season at the beginning, but I think the wise move and the cooler heads prevailed, and we managed to get the mid-season entry for Gen3.
“It’s a bit unique, but it should work. It’s going to be the same challenge for everyone to overcome halfway through the season. It’s fair and equal for everyone so we’ll crack on.”
