The turning points in Walkinshaw TWG's road to 1000 Supercars races

Walkinshaw TWG Racing will become just the second team in the history of the Repco Supercars Championship to bring up 1000 race starts.

After Dick Johnson Racing became the first to bring up 1000 races back in 2023, WTWGR will bring up the milestone in the first race of the weekend on Thursday.

It's been a journey that has brought the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, starting life as the factory Holden Racing Team in the height of the turbo cars in the Group A era.

Through 999 race starts, the team have won 196 races, claimed 315 podium finishes, 102 pole positions, seven championship wins, and eight Bathurst 1000 victories.

The team has never been far from the headlines since debuting in 1990, and here are eight of the most pivotal moments in the team's journey to their 1000th race this week.

Dream Bathurst debut

The Holden Racing Team made their debut in 1990, running a single Commodore for former British Touring Car Champion Win Percy in the 1990 Australian Touring Car Championship. After finishing eighth in the sprint series, Percy was joined by 1986 Bathurst winner Allan Grice for The Great Race, and as the fragile turbo cars such as the Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth and Nissan GT-R broke down, Grice and Percy stole claimed a famous win.

The King meets The Kid

The team struggled in the year's following 1990, however in 1994 things turned for the better. After his infamous divorce from Holden in 1987, Peter Brock returned to the factory fold, and claimed the team's first ATCC round win in Sydney on his way to third in points. For the enduros, the 1993 Formula Ford champion was a last-minute addition to the team's enduro lineup in their second car. By the end of that year's Bathurst 1000, he had stolen all the headlines by launching a brilliant move on John Bowe. Craig Lowndes had arrived, and in a hurry.

The golden era

Lowndes wouldn't make his full-time debut until 1996, after claiming a Bathurst pole the year before. Lowndes would begin the golden era for the HRT, winning championships either side of a failed bid to crack F1 in 1997, and also claiming a Bathurst win with Greg Murphy in 1996. Mark Skaife replaced the retired Brock for 1998, and after losing out to Lowndes in his first two seasons, went on a three-peat of titles from 2000-2002, including back-to-back Bathurst wins in '01 and '02. It was one of the great Australian sporting dynasties.

A changing of the guard

Tough times befell the team following their 2002 title win, with Skaife buying the team midway through 2003 after the collapse of the Tom Walkinshaw Racing empire. Walkinshaw returned in 2005, with the HRT claiming a further two Bathurst wins under his watch in 2005 and 2009. Walkinshaw would pass away at age 64 after a battle with cancer in December 2010, with son Ryan Walkinshaw stepping up into his father's shoes for 2011.

International buy-in

After losing the Holden factory deal at the end of 2016, Walkinshaw looked to what Team Penske had done with a struggling Dick Johnson Racing as they looked to turn around their fortunes. Walkinshaw found not just one, but two international partners, in IndyCar frontrunners Andretti Autosport and international sportscar aces United Autosports. Within two events, the newly rebranded Walkinshaw Andretti United were race winners, courtesy of Scott Pye in Melbourne.

Mostert becomes the talisman

WAU's biggest play to rediscover their title-contending form came ahead of the 2020 season, when they prized Chaz Mostert away from Tickford. Immediately, Mostert was right in the hunt for trophies, and although a race win wouldn't come until 2021, his second season was capped off by a dominant Bathurst win. A change to Ford came in 2023 for the arrival of Gen3, and Mostert was the class of the Ford contenders, with a mid-season surge in 2024 nearly paying off.

Return to the promised land

The introduction of a Finals Series last year brought a whole new dynamic into the title fight. It was dynamic that Walkinshaw mastered better than anyone else. Both Mostert and teammate Ryan Wood had the two fastest cars in the final stretch of the season, and when Wood was eliminated from contention, it gave the team a perfect rear-gunner. Amid final day heartbreak for Broc Feeney, Mostert claimed his first title in 13 attempts, whilst the team won their first title in 23 years.

Toyota arrives

In the midst of their title fight, the team was also hard at work preparing one of the most eagerly anticipated entries into Supercars. Announced in September 2024, Walkinshaw landed a deal to bring Toyota into Supercars after two decades of flirtation with the category. Amid a mad scramble of both engine and aerodynamic testing, five Toyota GR Supras, including three from partner team Brad Jones Racing, made it to the grid for the opening event of the year in Sydney, with all five finishing inside the top 10 in the final race of the weekend.