Skaife doubles down on Team 18, GM criticism
Mark Skaife responds to Charlie Schwerkolt, Adrian Burgess retorts
Skaife criticised Team 18, General Motors in the lead-up to Darwin
Team 18 duo Schwerkolt, Burgess bit back after Darwin victory
Supercars legend Mark Skaife has doubled down on his recent criticism of General Motors and Team 18.
Heading to Darwin, GM were winless in 15 starts, since Anton De Pasquale’s breakthrough in Sydney in February.
Skaife made headlines in the lead-up to Darwin when — on MotorRacing 360 — he criticised both GM and Team 18, claiming the latter is "not operating like a proper factory team.”.
De Pasquale duly powered to victory in Darwin last weekend, prompting returns of serve at Skaife from Team 18 owner Charlie Schwerkolt and Team Principal Adrian Burgess.
In a column on News Corp, Supercars Hall of Fame Skaife insisted what he said "was not an attack on them as people,” but stood by his comments.
"Charlie Schwerkolt wished I’d been in Darwin on Sunday. I wasn’t. But he may have been surprised if I was – because I would have been standing trackside applauding Anton De Pasquale as he crossed the line for one of his best wins,” Skaife wrote.
"I would have also been one of the first to shake Charlie’s hand and say well done… but one win doesn’t change my position. Not even slightly.
"None of this is personal… it was a hard, honest assessment of where GM’s factory program sits right now, and where it needs to go. I stand by every word.”
Skaife cited Team 18’s win record heading to Darwin, Triple Eight’s brilliant 2025 season, and how Ford has won seven times as many races as GM this year. Additionally, he insisted GM being strong is “in the best interest of the sport."
He also referenced the likes of multiple Grand Final-winning NRL coaches Wayne Bennett, Craig Bellamy and Ivan Cleary, who he insisted "do not accept mediocrity… not for a single week.”
"Those champions let results do the talking, and they don’t stop demanding more until the trophy is theirs at the end of the season,” Skaife continued.
“[Schwerkolt] can take a shot at me every time they win a race. That’s fine. In fact. I would be delighted to be proven wrong.”
De Pasquale is just 66 points from third heading to Townsville on July 10-12.
