Supercars teams applaud V6 Holden backflip

Holden announced this morning that development of its twin-turbo engine, which has been ongoing since last year, will be put on hold indefinitely.

That shores up the future of the GM V8 engine in the sport, and puts an end to plans for the V6 engine to debut as a Wildcard entry this year before being rolled out in full race trim next season.

The development and proposed introduction of the engine, both driven by factory Holden squad Triple Eight Race Engineering, divided opinion among the Holden teams in the Supercars paddock. While many squads had planned on sticking with the V8 for next year, there were concerns that any perceived performance gain from the new engine, despite the category's ultra-strict parity regulations, would force teams into making the change.

According to Brad Jones, owner of the three-car Brad Jones Racing outfit that fields Holden hardware, the decision to postpone development makes sense.

"The V6 isn't dead, it's just been put on hold for the moment," Jones told Motorsport.com.

"I think it's the right decision, to be honest. The ZB seems to be going along pretty well with the V8 engine, and the fans love the noise that the cars make.

"From BJR's perspective, our intention has been to continue with the V8 – so it's not going to impact on us too much. For me, the issue is that if the V6 is done and you get some sort of performance advantage out of it, you're almost forced to use it.

"I think the V8 has the right sound, the competition is very, very close at the moment, so it's a sound business decision [to put the V6 on hold]. I think it's good for the sport."

Walkinshaw Andretti United made its anti-V6 position clear over the Australian Grand Prix weekend, when part-owner and McLaren F1 boss Zak Brown labelled the decision to introduce the engine 'a mistake'.

Unsurprisingly WAU is very now much in favour of the backflip regarding the twin-turbo unit, another of its co-owners Ryan Walkinshaw praising Holden for responding to feedback from teams and fans. 

“The V8 engine is synonymous with this category, there is so much history and passion surrounding it, so it’s fantastic to see Holden and the sport listening to the fans,” said Walkinshaw.

“With a strong engine programme, it’s great to be able to remove the uncertainty surrounding the future of the V8 and be able to continue to focus on the revival of our team as Walkinshaw Andretti United.”

Erebus Motorsport owner Betty Klimenko added that it's a 'realistic' decision from Holden to hold back the new engine.

“[The V6 engine] was a great idea, and it was logical, but we’re just not ready for it," she said.

“It was a realistic decision by Holden, especially for us as we need to concentrate on the current package we have before committing to anything new.”

Holden's Executive Director – Marketing Mark Harland confirmed that the feedback he's been getting from both the public and the Holden teams since the announcement has been largely positive.

"For the most part the early feedback we're getting from the fans and the teams is very positive," Harland told the official Supercars website.

"We want to consider the fans… but it's one piece of a much bigger puzzle in terms of putting it all together.

"Yes, we want to keep our fans happy, but we can't just make big business decisions based on the input of fans on social media, etcetera.

"Talking to the other teams and making sure they were comfortable is something that we wanted to do as well.

"We wanted to have as many Holdens on the track; winning is the best proof that we can have that we're here to stay in motorsport.

"That translates into more sales of the road car."