Chevy Racing plans revealed

General Motors’ new Australian racing boss has broken his silence, revealing long-awaited details of how Chevrolet Racing plans to win over Holden fans to support the Gen3 Camaro.

The Camaro Supercars racer will replace the ZB Commodore from next year, ending Holden’s more than half a century in top-level touring car racing, lining up alongside the new-look S650 Ford Mustang.

In his first major interview, Chevrolet Racing general manager Chris Payne detailed how GM’s involvement will work on the PARKED UP PLUS podcast.

Payne confirmed there’ll be no official Chevrolet Racing Team, with all Camaro squads receiving some level of factory support.

So Camaro homologation team Triple Eight, although favoured, won’t be the replacement of the Holden Racing Team.

He also explained gold will be the new red as the ‘Bow Tie’ brand’s signature colour takes over as the new rival to Ford’s blue.

Payne outlined how Chevy Racing will keep Holden’s racing heritage alive and win the hearts of entrenched Lion fans.

As well, he detailed the involvement of GM Performance in the USA of the development of the Gen3 Camaro, including the bespoke LTR 5.7-litre V8 to rival Ford’s 5.4-litre Coyote derivative.

Payne confirmed plans for a big send-off for Holden in racing at the Bathurst 1000 in October and the season-ending Adelaide 500 in early December.

He also addressed the impending defection of Holden stalwart Walkinshaw Andretti United to Ford – and the tantalising possibility of the new GT3 C8 Corvette racing in the Bathurst 12 Hour.

Highlights of the exclusive exchange with Payne are on PARKED UP PLUS now, with the full interview with even more details of Chevrolet Racing’s plans to be run on Grant Rowley’s PARKED UP podcast on Thursday.