SUPERCARS ROCKED BY DEFECTION TO FORD
WALKINSHAW Andretti United is bracing for some fallout from its rusted-on Holden fans after its shock Supercars switch to Ford was confirmed.
In a bombshell defection, the longtime Holden squad and former factory Holden Racing Team has chosen to field Ford Mustangs instead of General Motors’ Chevrolet Camaros when Supercars new Gen3 era begins next year.
Walkinshaw Andretti United (WAU) team boss Ryan Walkinshaw was at Ford headquarters in Detroit for the announcement on Friday of one of the most significant manufacturer shifts in Supercars history.
The team has been weighing up its Gen3 manufacturer move for several years and Jaguar also emerged as a potential suitor late last year.
But Walkinshaw said the factory support from Ford was a key factor in making the “tough decision” to switch from red to blue.
Admitting the decision was made with a “heavy heart” following his team’s – and his family’s – long-time association with General Motors, Walkinshaw conceded the move was likely to upset some of the team’s diehard Holden supporters.
But he said it was the best decision for his 2021 Bathurst-winning team.
“We understand that there is going to be a small minority of our fans that are going to be totally understandably upset, shocked, frustrated and we get it,” Walkinshaw said.
“It is important that we make the message clear that we understand that some of them will stop following us, it’s an inevitability.
“I think the vast majority of our fans are fans of our team and not Holden fans. If they were just Holden fans, they would have left us when we lost the Holden Racing Team.
“Whilst it’s inevitable that you will have a small minority of fans who won’t be able to make the mental transition to supporting a Ford team … we are really excited about welcoming a lot of the new Ford fans over to our team and our family.
“There is a heavy heart in this change because I have bled red as much as our fans have. I was a Holden fan myself for such a long period of time. We have competed ferociously against Ford in this championship for three decades.
“It’s a bit of a mental transition even for myself for this.”
In a sport built on Holden versus Ford rivalry, WAU – co-owned by Michael Andretti and McLaren’s Zak Brown – has been one of the most famous Holden teams of all.
Walkinshaw’s father Tom founded the Holden Racing Team in partnership with GM Holden in 1990 and it remained the factory team until the end of 2016 when Holden shifted its backing to Triple Eight.
Walkinshaw said it was critical for the team, which has Chaz Mostert and Nick Percat as its drivers, to have factory support again if it wanted to be in the title hunt.