V8 Supercar’s most successful team, the Holden Racing Team today unveiled the last of the most successful generation of race cars in Australian motor racing history.
2010 V8 Supercar Champion James Courtney ‘shook down’ the new Holden VE Commodore Series II, which is the last to be built to the long-standing V8 Supercar regulations before the category moves to its Car Of The Future platform in 2013.
Courtney completed 20 trouble free laps of Winton Motor Raceway in the Commodore, which will make its race debut in next week’s ITM 400 in Hamilton, New Zealand.
“The current V8 Supercars have served the sport well so it’s an honor for me to be given the last of this generation’s car built by the Holden Racing Team – it’s quite special really,” Courtney said.
“The car is the same as the previous cars, but it’s all shiny and new and with history on its side it’s a special car.
“We’ve had 20 good laps today which have all gone well and that’s a good sign, so I am looking forward to rolling it out in Hamilton.”
The car – chassis WR015 – is the 15th VE Commodore built by HRT parent company, Walkinshaw Racing since the VE model made its debut in 2007 – 36 of the team’s record 200 race wins coming from the VE Commodore.
Courtney’s previous chassis (WR012) moves to become the team’s spare – the first time HRT has had a dedicated, race-ready spare car at call.
It begins a new strategy that the team will carry into the COTF generation in which V8 Supercars intends to include additional events in a more compacted calendar.
As intentional with COTF, HRT will build multiple chassis prior to next season and use them on a rotational basis rather than have just two dedicated cars for its drivers – the approach reducing between-event pressures on the team.
“With Car Of The Future, V8s have already said they are planning the season to be more compact but with more races, so to ease pressure on the teams having race-ready spares is the way of the future,” Courtney said.
Next week’s ITM 400 in Hamilton could possibly be the last time the V8 Supercar Championship is seen in New Zealand with no announcement yet on a replacement venue for 2013 and beyond.
