Schwerkolt’s squad was expected to become the second Toyota outfit from the moment the marque announced last September that it’d enter Supercars with Walkinshaw Andretti United.
That was due in part to Schwerkolt’s long term relationship with Toyota Material Handling through his Waverley Forklifts enterprise.
However, Triple Eight’s bombshell announcement in January this year that it would switch from GM to Ford in 2026 scattered the Supercars pack.
It opened the GM homologation team role, which Team 18 subsequently beat early frontrunner PremiAir Racing to secure.
Team 18’s GM deal was announced in April, before Toyota the following month secured Brad Jones Racing to become its second Supra squad.
Expressing his pride at the GM arrangement following the recent addition of Craig Lowndes to his stable, Schwerkolt acknowledged he had been Toyota-bound.
“My world has turned all around since the start of the year,” Schwerkolt told Speedcafe.
“Most people would have bet a lot of money that we would have been racing Toyotas and going down that path. There was a complete U-turn, and I was pretty hungry for this GM deal as well.
“I had to prove that we’re the right team to do it with and prove to General Motors that we can do it. We’ll back ourselves, we’ll do them proud and we’ll race to win.”
GM is understood to have offered a more financially appealing deal than Toyota, which had already committed the bulk of its funding to WAU.
Asked to clarify if he was in active talks with Toyota when the GM opportunity arose, Schwerkolt added: “I’m very close to Toyota, they’re great people.
“I am so happy that Toyota has come into sport. I really think it is one of the best things for the sport, for another manufacturer coming in.
“Yes, I was in talks. Of course, I was in talks with Toyota, but obviously the Triple Eight Ford alliance took everyone by surprise.
“It surprised me, and I thought there could be another path here, and let’s have a look at it.
“I really respect Toyota coming into the sport. I know what it’s like coming in from nothing and doing it all and good on Walkinshaw for taking it on, but I feel this is a better path for Team 18.”
Schwerkolt also lifted the lid on how Team 18 managed to pry the GM deal away from PremiAir, which had been widely expected to secure it before US chiefs headed to Melbourne in March.
He said a secret visit to the team’s Mount Waverley workshop, located in the same business park as Schwerkolt’s Waverley Forklifts empire, was key.
“[GM’s vice president of global motorsport competition] Eric Warren came to work secretly through the Grand Prix and had a look,” Schwerkolt revealed.
“He thought, ‘wow, you guys are fair dinkum’ with what we’re doing, who we’ve got, the resources behind it.
“I actually showed him some forklifts and he thought, ‘wow, it’s a massive organisation’. We had a lot to offer we ended up with [the deal].”
Schwerkolt said his team’s Camaros will still be permitted to run the branding of Toyota Material Handling and fellow Toyota Group company Hino Trucks next year.
“Nothing changes at all. There’s approvals everywhere, like I’ve had for the last 10 years,” he said.
“Toyota Forklifts are an incredible partner for me in my life, and they come on the journey with me. They’re fantastic people and they’re excited for what we’re doing next year.
“Same with Hino Tucks, nothing changes there for both of them, which, I think, is pretty special.”
GM has flagged a desire to increase the level of Chevrolet branding on the Team 18 cars next year, which already underwent a mid-season tweak to reflect the factory status.
Team principal Adrian Burgess recently led a delegation of Team 18 engineers to GM’s motorsport headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, as the parties cement their alliance.
Toyota will take the covers off its first Walkinshaw Andretti United-built Gen3 Supra at a launch function in Sydney tonight.
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