Skaife takes swipe at Team 18, General Motors
Holden legend Mark Skaife takes swipe at Team 18, General Motors
Skaife claims Team 18 are "are not going anywhere near well enough"
Anton De Pasquale win in Sydney, is 26 points from fourth in points
Holden legend Mark Skaife has taken a swipe at General Motors and Team 18, claiming the latter is "not operating like a proper factory team.”
Team 18 is five rounds into life as GM’s homologation team in Supercars, and burst out of the blocks with victory in Sydney by Anton De Pasquale.
Former GM powerhouse turned Ford homologation team Triple Eight hold both championship leads, with De Pasquale the lead GM driver in sixth.
Through five rounds, De Pasquale is six positions and 322 points better off in the championship versus 2025, while David Reynolds claimed a podium in Tasmania.
Skaife, however, claimed GM has "done nothing" since Triple Eight defected to Ford, while claiming Team 18 is "not going anywhere near well enough.”
"The first thing is, GM had their pants pulled down when Ford came and grabbed Triple Eight,” Skaife said on MotorRacing 360.
"GM needed to have whacked Ford for what happened at the end of last year and that changeover. They haven't whacked them. It's been like a whimper. They've done nothing. GM has done nothing.
"So when you apply the GM factor to this, and the factory team is Team 18, they don't operate well enough. They are not going anywhere near well enough."
Team 18 and GM motorsport boss Simon McNamara both declined to comment when approached by Supercars.com.
Skaife’s comments, however, come in response to Team 18 owner Charlie Schwerkolt declaring De Pasquale as an “A-grade” driver, something Skaife also claimed on MotorRacing 360 last month.
Erebus Motorsport CEO Barry Ryan infamously declared Chevrolet didn't have any "A-grade" drivers in Christchurch, including his two rising stars in Cooper Murray and Jobe Stewart.
Schwerkolt also said the current leaderboard — with De Pasquale the only GM driver in the top 10 — is “not good enough” for the bow tie.
GM made moves to counter Triple Eight’s Ford move by signing McNamara, Triple Eight technical boss Jeromy Moore, and Grove Racing tech boss Grant McPherson, while also locking down Craig Lowndes and KRE Race Engines.
Skaife, though, suggested Team 18 needs to lift its level, adding: "Apply it to normal sport, the NRL with a Craig Bellamy or Wayne Bennett or Ivan Cleary or whoever.
"They put so much pressure on that organisation to perform each weekend, they get the best from everyone in that outfit.
"[Team 18], they're not like that. Team 18 are not operating like a proper factory team."
The 2026 season resumes in Darwin on June 19-21.
