Once evenly matched rivals, Holden has undoubtedly won the war against Ford in the Australian touring-car battleground.
As both brands prepare for the end of local manufacturing, Holden has at least sought to retain its Australian identity by maintaining its domestic racing links.
Ford will retire the Falcon nameplate and pull funding from V8 Supercars at the end of 2015. In contrast, Holden will retain the Commodore nameplate on the imported front-wheel-drive car and looks set to continue in V8 Supercars beyond 2017.
Holden’s more hands-on V8 Supercars investment has paid dividends with the last four drivers’ championships, five manufacturers’ championships and the most entries on the grid. Holden contributes 12 of the 25 entries on the V8 Supercars grid, six of which are factory-backed entries – two at Triple Eight Race Engineering and four at the Holden Racing Team/Walkinshaw Racing.
Tekno Autosports and Brad Jones Racing switched across from Ford and are regular race winners for Holden, while the support given to the up and coming Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport is more involved than Ford’s effort towards its factory team.
That effort owes much to Holden motorsport manager Simon McNamara. Despite the Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport being at the tail end of the Holden pecking order, McNamara helped in the reorganisation of the team heading into 2014 and guiding young gun Nick Percat to the lead driver role in 2015.
Ford has not had such a hands-on motorsport manager leveraging its V8 Supercars involvement in years, as a result squandering the potential of its team and support of its fans.
Holden looks to be in a dominant position heading into 2015. Record-breaking six-time champion Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes at Triple Eight, the ever-improving Shane van Gisbergen at Tekno Autosports and the Holden Racing Team duo of Garth Tander and James Courtney are all in the mix for the title.
The Volvo Polestar S60 package and young gun Scott McLaughlin could mount a championship challenge, while Ford’s hopes rest on the arrival of the new Falcon, the FG X.
But Holden’s depth and strength in numbers could make the difference yet again. While non-Holden fans bemoan the uneven spread of entries and one-sided competition, they should blame Ford for its uncommitted effort.
The pendulum will swing as new manufacturers enter the scene, particularly from 2017 when the Gen2 Supercar regulations open up the series to the two-door coupes and non-V8 engines.
Volvo has the car to challenge the Holden entrants, though only has one genuine race-winning entry. Nissan is also improving with its four cars sneaking into the top 10, though has a way to go to challenge for a championship.
As Ford exits stage left and new manufacturers rise up, Holden reaps the rewards for the investment it has put into V8 Supercars.
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