The announcement was made on Friday afternoon at the ITM Taupo Super440 and follows weeks of deliberations involving local and US GM chiefs, as well as its Supercars squads.
While Team 18 currently has just one Supercars race win to its credit, the squad boasts a management and engineering staff experienced in homologation duties.
“Today marks an exciting new chapter for Team 18,” said owner Charlie Schwerkolt, whose outfit currently fields David Reynolds and Anton De Pasquale.
“There is no doubt that these are big shoes to fill, but I believe we have the team, the machinery, and the talent to do it.
“GM and Chevrolet Racing are a powerhouse for a reason, and everyone, at every level, has been fantastic in welcoming our team to the fold.
“I know we share the same vision, and the same goal — to work closely with GM and all the other Chevy teams to see a Chevrolet Camaro cross the line first every race weekend.”
GM has declared a more collaborative approach to the HT duties with Team 18 than what has been seen under Triple Eight.
While manufacturers are required to nominate a homologation team under the category’s rules, GM has already taken the step of directly hiring current Triple Eight technical director Jeromy Moore.
“GM Motorsports will take responsibility to ensure the competitiveness of the race car and engine in the Supercars series,” read a statement.
“As part of this new alliance, GM will foster collaboration amongst Chevy teams and a connection back to GM Motorsports – giving teams and drivers opportunities to compete outside of Supercars, including building and facilitating more direct relationships with NASCAR teams.
“Team 18 and the other Camaro based teams, will have access to GM Motorsport’s technical resources in the USA, including state-of-the-art development and engineering advancements, including AI, machine learning, simulations, and more.”
The Team 18 decision followed GM dispatching its US-based executive director of global motorsports competition, Eric Warren, to Albert Park last month.
Warren met with all teams before the decision was made to appoint Team 18.
“Our motorsport activities around the world are driven by three things: our passionate customers and fans, our cutting-edge technical innovation, and our incredible people,” said Warren.
“Whether it’s Supercars, or any other race series that Chevrolet competes in across the globe, we are there to win, and we’re looking forward to working with Team 18 and all the Chevy Camaro teams in any way we can, to achieve that goal.”
It’s currently unclear how many Camaros will be on the grid next season, with Brad Jones Racing and PremiAir Racing currently their assessing options for 2026.
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