Both Toyota and Triple Eight made seismic announcements in the past five months that are set to impact the immediate future of Supercars.
The first was Toyota announcing its Supercars program before Triple Eight shocked the industry with news that it will cut its GM ties and run Ford Mustangs next season.
Both announcements created a flurry of activity in the paddock with teams and manufacturers looking for their best path forward in the updated landscape.
That includes GM’s search for a new homologation team, a race set to be won by PremiAir Racing, and Toyota looking for a second team alongside its own HT, Walkinshaw Andretti United.
Among everything there is also a fascinating sliding doors scenario. Toyota landed on its decision to enter Supercars, and do so with WAU, last year. Right at the time that Triple Eight was on the hunt for either a better deal from GM, or a new manufacturer to tie up with.
That being the case, it’s entirely plausible that the world’s leading car brand could have signed on with the Supercars powerhouse.
Except neither seemed to know the other was up for grabs.
As fascinating a scenario as it is, it’s not something that Toyota’s Australian marketing chief, and the man behind the Supercars program, Sean Hanley is fussed about.
“I really don’t have any thoughts on it, to be honest,” he told Speedcafe.
“We’re just too entrenched in our own agenda, our own cause, our own plans. I really have no thoughts, good, bad or indifferent about it. I’m just getting on with it.”
When asked if a Toyota/T8 tie-up could have happened, Hanley added: “We’ll never know, because we never got to that arrangement. We certainly have never had those discussions.
“Our commitment is to Walkinshaw Andretti United, that is our homologation team.”
WAU is well underway with its Toyota program which is being overseen by Carl Faux completely seperate to the race team.
Development of the V8 engine is in motion while there is at least one chassis earmarked as the first Supra, which is expected to begin track testing later this year.
WAU will field two Supras next year, with Toyota deeply committed to signing a second team to ensure there is four on the grid.
Team 18 has long been the favourite to join WAU in the Toyota fold, a positioned strengthened by indications that PremiAir will take over the GM HT duties from Triple Eight.
