WAU HAS “GENUINE INTEREST” FROM OTHER MANUFACTURERS
Walkinshaw Andretti United has “genuine interest” from new manufacturers – Photo: LAT
Walkinshaw Andretti United is negotiating to bring a potential third manufacturer into Supercars in 2022.
By BRUCE NEWTON
WAU director Ryan Walkinshaw says the team is talking to more than one potential new brand about a Supercars program.
The former Holden factory squad will only commit to racing the new Gen3 Chevrolet Camaro announced this morning to join the Ford Mustang on the grid if those discussions fail.
Walkinshaw said a decision either way probably may not be made until the second half of 2021.
“We haven’t committed to anything for 2022. We still have some genuine interest from other manufacturers we are in discussion with and we will make a decision about what product we are running in 2022, probably towards the beginning to the middle of next year … even later if we really wanted to,” Walkinshaw said.
Walkinshaw has previously talked up WAU discussions with new brands. He revealed COVID-19 cruelled negotiations that went “very far”.
“But now we are in discussion with a couple of other brands and there is genuine interest there,” Walkinshaw said.
“We will continue exploring that. How confident am I? I haven’t got much confidence in having much foresight on anything of that nature, so we will just do the best job we can, pitch it as strongly as we can.”
He welcomed the Gen3 regulations, which lowers the roof height and commits to a shape far closer to the production car body and panels than Gen2.
“Supercars has now given us the ammunition we need to go back and push those conversations further now there’s more detail around Gen3, which is a positive thing.
“The important thing is the change of the chassis will allow more body shapes to be designed upon it and that will allow other products in car company portfolios to go racing.
“That means sporty cars as opposed to four-door sedans, which are not really marketed in any way as performance products for most brands.”
Walkinshaw also welcomed the category V8 engine that Supercars is considering as a way to tempt new manufacturers.
“There have been some brands we have spoken to that genuinely seem to not care about the engine,” he said.
“The important part is you want choices. If a manufacturer wants to go and spend a fair amount of money developing their own engine for Supercars they have that opportunity
“But if they don’t, having a crate engine they can basically drop in and not worry about it and make it much more economic entry into Supercars. It makes a lot of sense.”
WAU lobbied for a rule change as far back as 2018 to allow the Camaro to race in Supercars without compromising its shape. Triple Eight Race Engineering is developing the Gen3 Camaro and has confirmed it will enter two examples in 2022.
WAU sister company HSV remanufactured road-going Camaros to right-hand drive in Melbourne in 2018-20 and the organisation still contracts conversion services to the new GM Specialty Vehicles organisation.
But Walkinshaw said that connection didn’t mean the team had to opt for the Camaro.
“I’d be excited and very happy to run Camaro, but I want to see where these discussions with other manufacturers go.
“The category will be strong with Camaro and Mustang but it will be even stronger with one or two other brands as well and I’d like to be a part of that.
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