Skaife had declared on MotorRacing 360 earlier this month that GM had “done nothing” in the near 18 months since Triple Eight signed a deal to defect to Ford.
The Holden legend was particularly critical of GM’s choice of replacement homologation squad Team 18, declaring it’s “not operating like a proper factory team”.
That was not lost on Team 18 owner Charlie Schwerkolt in the aftermath of Anton De Pasquale’s victory, noting “it’s a shame Mark Skaife is not here to see this win”.
Skaife is not part of the travelling Supercars circus this year having been axed from the commentary team, but has bitten back via a column in the Daily Telegraph.
Although stressing that if he was in Darwin he would have congratulated Schwerkolt and De Pasquale, Skaife said he “stands by every word” of his earlier comments.
“One win doesn’t change my position. Not even slightly,” he wrote.
Secure your spot today.
Skaife compared Team 18’s 2026 win rate to Triple Eight’s last year, and underlined the lack of GM success this season against Ford and newcomer Toyota.
“That is the chasm. And unfortunately, one win in Darwin does not bridge it,” he added.
Skaife also criticised Schwerkolt’s Darwin victory lap, suggesting “great winning cultures in Australian sport” are about sustained performance.
“Ask yourself this – would [Wayne] Bennett be out there calling out his critics after one win in round seven?” Skaife wrote.
“Would [Craig] Bellamy be beating his chest and pointing fingers? Not a chance.
“Those champions let results do the talking, and they don’t stop demanding more until the trophy is theirs at the end of the season.
“That is the standard. That is what a genuine winning culture looks like.
“[Charlie] can take a shot at me every time they win a race. That’s fine. In fact. I would be delighted to be proven wrong.
“In the best interest of the sport and the historic tribal rivalry which I was proud to be a part of, we need GM to be strong.
“Our loyal fans deserve it.”
Skaife will be joined on tonight’s MotorRacing 360 by Team 18 principal Adrian Burgess.
Asked by Speedcafe on Sunday whether Skaife’s comments had been discussed inside the team ahead of Darwin, Burgess also took a veiled swipe at the former HRT driver and owner.
“It didn’t get discussed for very long because you don’t bother listening to comments like that,” he said.
“He’s entitled to his opinion. I don’t think he knows the address of the factory, let alone ever been in it, so I don’t think he’s really qualified to say what’s going on inside our business.
“The only way for us is to just keep our head down, keep motivated, keep executing and not worry about distractions and do your job.”
Burgess, who was the principal of the Holden Racing Team when it lost its GM factory status to Triple Eight, denied the HT tag has added pressure this season.
“I think teams put enough pressure on themselves anyway, you do as drivers, as owners, as team principals,” he said.
“We’re here to win whether you’re a homologation team or a customer team.
“At the end of the day if you’re not here trying to win in whichever role you’re in, then you shouldn’t be in the sport.
“I don’t feel any more pressure. There’s maybe a bit more expectation but we put enough of that on ourselves anyway, to improve and do a better job, day in, day out.”
Discussion about this post