NEW TCM COMMODORE BREAKS COVER

New Touring Car Masters Commodore breaks cover – Photo: Supplied

First revealed by Auto Action last year, Gerard McLeod’s Holden VB Commodore is set to debut on the streets of Adelaide for the opening round of Touring Car Masters next weekend.

By HEATH McALPINE

Entered by Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport, McLeod’s new Commodore will take on the equally fresh Ford XD Falcon of reigning series winner Steve Johnson in what will be a return to touring car racing from the early 1980s.

McLeod’s build is to the highest standard from a one-owner donor chassis purchased in country Victoria early last year and will be one of two new Commodores to take the grid with a second separately entered model due to race in Adelaide.

“The design brief was to make a very simple, very reliable but well-thought-out car,” McLeod said.

“We believe the Commodore platform will be very competitive in Touring Car Masters and we’re looking forward to getting it on track. I got in touch with the category four years ago saying that if they ever introduced a Commodore that we would be the first to commit to running one, and I’m proud that we’ve reached this point of getting the car on track.
“The car is owned by Lucas Dumbrell and I’ve done the build over the last year. We’ve drawn on all the experience from the industry that we could find and tapped into a lot of resources including people with experience from Supercars and beyond.

“Tony Freeman of Kelly Racing built the engine in-house, (TCM competitor) Gary O’Brien did the bodywork and it looks incredible. It’s been built to a very high standard.

“We could have had it finished earlier but we didn’t want to rush it. We wanted it right.”

The new Commodore will utilise the TCM-category engine designed to be affordable and reliable with McLeod failing many drawbacks about the option.

“Running the category engine was a case of making it feasible to actually do,” he said.

“Aside from being a potent little engine due to weight, it will be very torquey and will do two years without being unbolted from the car. We weren’t going to build the car with an $80,000 engine and it ticked last box for us to go ahead, it was at that point we committed to see it through to the end.”

The livery is a nod to his father, Peter, who won the 1987 Bathurst 1000 alongside Peter Brock and David ‘Skippy’ Parsons, though the paintwork is inspired by an entry his father ran before that event.

“The car will run a livery very close to what Dad ran in the 1980s,” McLeod confirmed.

“It’s going to look sensational and we can’t wait to pull the covers off in Adelaide and show everyone what we’ve been working on for so long.
“Adelaide will be a learning weekend but after three of four races we should be on top of it and it will be a competitive car.
“After a year of late nights and a lot of thought process in the build, I’m really looking forward to driving it,” McLeod added.

“Being involved in TCM will be fantastic – it’s a fan favourite category.”

It is believed McLeod will test the new Commodore in the coming days ahead of its debut.

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