Supercars news: Why Walkinshaw Andretti United had to wal kaway from Holden

One of Supercars most famous Holden teams is turning blue in a shock switch for the start of the sport’s Gen3 era - Rebecca Williams reveals why thirty years of history had to end.

Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth drivers of the #25 Mobil 1 Appliances Online Racing Holden Commodore

Walkinshaw Andretti United is bracing for some fallout from its rusted-on Holden fans after its shock Supercars switch to Ford was confirmed.

In a bombshell defection, the long-time Holden squad and former factory Holden Racing Team has chosen to field Ford Mustangs instead of General Motors’ Chevrolet Camaro when Supercars new Gen3 era begins next year.

Walkinshaw Andretti United (WAU) team boss Ryan Walkinshaw was at Ford headquarters in Detroit for the official announcement on Friday of one of the most significant manufacturer shifts in Supercars history.

The team has been weighing up its Gen3 manufacturer move for several years and Jaguar also emerged as a potential suitor late last year.

Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth drivers of the #25 Mobil 1 Appliances Online Racing Holden Commodore ZB

But Walkinshaw stressed the importance of having factory support from Ford – to bolster the team’s championship ambitions – was a key factor in making the “tough decision” to switch from red to blue.

Admitting the decision was made with a “heavy heart” following his team’s – and his family’s long-time association with General Motors – Walkinshaw conceded the move was likely to upset some of the team’s diehard Holden supporters.

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But Walkinshaw said it was the best decision for his 2021 Bathurst-winning team.

“We understand that there is going to be a small minority of our fans that are going to be totally understandably upset, shocked, frustrated and we get it,” Walkinshaw said.

“It is important that we make the message clear that we understand that some of them will stop following us, it’s an inevitability.

“I think the vast majority of our fans are fans of our team and not Holden fans. If they were just Holden fans, they would have left us when we lost the Holden Racing Team.

“Whilst it’s inevitable that you will have a small minority of fans who won’t be able to make the mental transition to supporting a Ford team …. we are really excited about welcoming a lot of the new Ford fans over to our team and our family.

“I’ll be 100 per cent honest because there is a heavy heart in this change because I have bled red as much as our fans have. I was a Holden fan myself for such a long period of time. We have competed ferociously against Ford in this championship for three decades.

“It’s a bit of a mental transition even for myself for this. That’s where I try to say I understand what the fans are going through because I have had to go through already.”

In a sport built on Holden versus Ford rivalry, WAU – co-owned by Michael Andretti and McLaren’s Zak Brown – has been one of the most famous Holden teams of all.

Walkinshaw’s father, Tom, founded the Holden Racing Team in partnership with GM Holden in 1990 and it remained the factory team until the end of 2016 when Holden shifted its backing to Triple Eight.

Walkinshaw said it was critical for the team, which has Chaz Mostert and Nick Percat as its drivers, to have factory support again if it wanted to be in the title hunt.

“We have been very open with our fans and the sport that we had ambitions to become a factory team again. It is absolutely critical to our plans to become a championship-winning team,” Walkinshaw said.

“There are not many teams in Supercars that have won championships that are not factory backed, the last bunch of championship teams they have been DJR (Ford) factory team and Red Bull, the Holden factory teams.

“So it is really important that there is factory backing if you want to go and consistently compete at the top against these guys.

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“Whilst to be honest with you our initial plan wasn’t to move to Ford … they gave us a really good deal and they told us their vision for their investment in their sport and their long term plans and it really resonated with myself, Michael and Zak.

“In the end it was a tough decision but we are pretty confident it was the right one.”

Walkinshaw said conversations with GM did not progress after the team made its factory ambitions clear.

“We told (GM) … if we could not explore an opportunity properly with them on how we could become a co-factory team like we used to be, with Triple Eight and the Holden Racing Team, then it was highly likely that we would end up having to choose another option and they are aware of that,” Walkinshaw said.

“Unfortunately we couldn’t make a deal work with GM and so we had to look elsewhere for other opportunities and fortunately we found a really great one.”

Originally published as Supercars news: Why Walkinshaw Andretti United had to wal kaway from Holden