GM Supercars boss emphatically shuts down theory
Jarrod Hughes, Cooper Murray made late stops for fuel
Anton De Pasquale qualified for Sandown over Ryan Wood
GM Motorsports Supercars Racing Program Manager Simon McNamara has emphatically shut down suggestions illegal manufacturer orders were at play in Sunday's Gold Coast finale.
De Pasquale's path to Sandown was cleared after fellow Camaro drivers Jarrod Hughes and Cooper Murray were forced to make late unscheduled fuel stops from the top 10, denying Toyota star Ryan Wood the last Finals spot.
Team orders are legal in Supercars, but only from within a single team. Per Supercars rules, manufacturers cannot influence a race.
Supercars Technical completed post-race fuel checks on the Hughes and Murray cars, and established that both cars did require the third stops to make the finish.
When asked post-race, De Pasquale said: "I think all brands will have that chat and whoever's left is always gonna get looked after…
“It's part of the game. Obviously, there's nothing more to that. Obviously, they were super quick in the lane."
When asked if they'd utilised manufacturer orders on Supercars' Equip Super Cool Down Lap podcast, McNamara said: "No, because it's against the rules. We're sticklers for the rules.”
Walkinshaw TWG Racing enacted team orders to get Wood ahead of Chaz Mostert, which at the time, had Wood above the cut-line, and ahead of De Pasquale. Before the swap, Hughes dive-bombed Wood into Turn 4, which also would have aided De Pasquale's cause.
All told, Hughes and Murray's stops pushed De Pasquale back into prime position, with Mostert moving back ahead of Wood on the last lap, reversing the Walkinshaw swap.
McNamara, who insisted pre-event that GM wasn't getting involved in others' "games," continued: "We didn't do anything to manipulate any rule changes. We didn't slow anybody down or speed anybody up to do anything.
“We certainly would've liked Jarrod to get past Woody. Would've been great for the points situation.
“Under no circumstances are we manipulating what happens on the track.
“We work technically to get these cars to be capable of racing. And in the words of Mr. Zak Brown, 'Let's go racing, boys’."
The 2026 Repco Supercars Finals Series continues at the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 from November 6-8.
