Holden Happy With Winning VF Commodore Debut

Holden Motorsport Manager Simon McNamara has said he could not be happier following the debut of Holden’s new VF Commodore at last weekend’s Clipsal 500.

Commodores won both races and filled five of the six podium positions over the two races, while nine Holden drivers left Adelaide in the top 10 in series points.

The Clipsal 500 triumph came just a week after the new Chevrolet SS won the world famous Daytona 500 NASCAR race – the road-going Chevy SS being based on the VF Commodore and to be built alongside it at Holden’s Elizabeth manufacturing plant.

“To see VF Commodore win in the way it did first time out, with eight cars finishing in the top 10 was extremely satisfying and a credit to everyone that contributed to our development program,” McNamara said.

“The Car Of The Future program meant we all started on a level playing field, so for Holden’s teams to come out and be so strong from the start was outstanding.

“And to do it just a week after Chevy SS won the Daytona 500 meant it’s been a dream start for Australia’s new world class VF Commodore.”

While much of the focus has been on V8's new manufacturers, McNamara said Holden Motorsport's job to develop VF Commodore was just as big and perhaps even more critical to the sport in Australia.

“VF Commodore is an important car for Holden and Australia. It is reopening Holden’s export programs, so it’s essential that our racing results reflect how much effort we have put in to developing a world class car,” he said.

“The task for Holden Motorsport to develop a new aero package for V8 Supercars was just as big as it was for others to develop their cars, and for us more important.

“[Holden Motorsport Technical Manager] Peter Harker led our VF program with Holden Racing Team’s Doug Skinner and Triple Eight Race Engineering’s Ludo Lucroix, putting in over 12 months of hard work to come up with a competitive package.

“We weren’t sitting on our hands waiting for something to happen.”

McNamara said Holden Motorsport was continuing VF Commodore’s development and looking for ways to further improve its performance.

“We have to keep developing and we are looking at all available options, but they have to be relevant for Holden,” he said.

“They also have to be responsible for the series; Car Of The Future’s charter was to significantly reduce the cost of racing.

“Holden remains committed to that, otherwise returning to the days of mindless spending would only be detrimental to the series.”