It was long thought that PremiAir Racing would get the nod to be the homologation team with Roland Dane lobbying hard behind the scenes.
However, a week out from the long-awaited announcement at the ITM Taupo Super440 that had been delayed multiple times over, it became evident that Charlie Schwekolt’s Team 18 was more likely to get the tick of approval.
Both teams came with considerable pedigrees. PremiAir Racing has a stack of ex-Triple Eight staff, including engineering guru Ludo Lacroix. Meanwhile, Team 18 has former Supercars technical delegate and Gen3 skipper Adrian Burgess.
Speaking with media at Taupo Motorsport Park, Warren said deciding which team to choose was “one of the toughest decisions” he’s had to make in the last year.
“All of our teams really are valuable to Chevrolet. Honestly, from the very first meeting, all the teams very much wanted to see a new model, wanted to collaborate,” Warren explained.
“You have to pick someone, and I was very impressed in the discussion with Charlie, and again, as I said, the relationship that Adrian had with Supercars, and really talking with both Ken McNamara on the engine side, Jeromy [Moore] with you know what we’re looking forward towards the future — you’re trying to find a puzzle to where you can bring the strengths of everybody together.”
Warren said he was impressed by Schwerkolt’s willingness to work with Chevrolet on the project.
Although Schwerkolt has long been known for his alliance to Toyota by way of his forklift business, the team owner is a passionate Chevrolet enthusiast with a Camaro ZL1 and Corvette Stingray in his personal cache.
Personal alliance to Chevrolet aside, Warren said Team 18 fit General Motors and its plans for a homogenous approach to the homologation team and its function relative to other Supercars squad.
“At the end of day, you had to pick someone. I think that Charlie embraced Chevrolet and the process from the very beginning, had no doubts,” Warren explained.
“I’m confident that, and I honestly believe that, Charlie and Team 18 really want to take the role of building the group as a whole with the strength, and so it was tough choice to be frank with you – I would rather it be ‘Team Chevy’.
“We’ll talk about it as ‘Team Chevy’ and that’s how we’ll approach it going forward. Certainly, it was a tough pick and lots of valuable teams to us.
“I have communicated that, and we’ve had lots of discussion, and even as we talk through the decision, trying to make sure others, we weren’t picking who was the best team. It really was the homologation team for the homologation activities and we can add strength to the group as a whole through Team 18, we feel like. And that’s kind of our approach. It’s not been easy, for sure.”
Discussion about this post