HSV Raiders
New member
Holden Racing Team (HRT) is now in the hands of Tom Walkinshaw, following V8 Supercars Australia (VESA) Board approval for him to take over the team from Mark Skaife.
After a media report last week claimed that Skaife owed money to Walkinshaw, the pair sensationally announced that Skaife would hand over the ownership of HRT to Walkinshaw but it was subject to approval from the VESA Board.
Skaife, who retired from V8 Supercars at the Grand Finale at Oran Park last weekend, said could see no reason why Walkinshaw would not be approved to own the team.
The Board met on Monday (December 8) and approved Walkinshaw to take over the team.
BigPond Sport understands he was also given approval at the meeting to take ownership of the PWR licence and can purchase a fourth licence if he can negotiate a sale with a current licence holder.
The Scotsman welcomed the news that the Board had endorsed his return to full ownership and running of HRT, promising fans the team would be back in business in 2009.
?Having been involved in motorsport in this country for almost 25 years I know the passion the public has for the Holden Racing Team,? Walkinshaw said.
?And I?m just as passionate about the team.?
Walkinshaw founded HRT with General Motors Holden in 1988, at the same time establishing the high performance car company Holden Special Vehicles.
His involvement in local motorsport extends beyond the five-time Bathurst 1000 and six-time V8 Supercar Championship winning HRT.
He was instrumental in establishing Holden Young Lions earlier this decade, which then became K-Mart Racing and is now known as the HSV Dealer Team.
But Walkinshaw?s time with the category has not all been a bed of roses.
In March 2007, Walkinshaw is understood to have taken 50 per cent ownership of Skaife Sports (which owns the HRT licences) in lieu of money owed.
At the time, a confidential memo from the now-defunct Touring Car Entrants Group Australia (it merged with the V8 Board at the start of the year) was leaked to the media saying Walkinshaw was not a ?person suitable to hold a controlling interest in a licence not to hold a licence in his own right?.
How Walkinshaw's status has changed a year later has not been officially clarified, but what has changed is the V8 Supercar company structure, the people who sit on the Board and the economic climate.
Walkinshaw, who has owned or provided engineering and support services to V8 Supercars and its predecessors since the mid 80s, said he was looking forward to the return of HRT?s domination of the Championship.
?We are determined to leave no stone unturned to fully deliver on the track in 2009, with the best team on and off the grid for the Holden Racing Team,? he said.
?Mark Skaife has stepped out of the team but that winning spirit which he engendered for so many years will live on as part of our rich history in V8 Supercars.?
After a media report last week claimed that Skaife owed money to Walkinshaw, the pair sensationally announced that Skaife would hand over the ownership of HRT to Walkinshaw but it was subject to approval from the VESA Board.
Skaife, who retired from V8 Supercars at the Grand Finale at Oran Park last weekend, said could see no reason why Walkinshaw would not be approved to own the team.
The Board met on Monday (December 8) and approved Walkinshaw to take over the team.
BigPond Sport understands he was also given approval at the meeting to take ownership of the PWR licence and can purchase a fourth licence if he can negotiate a sale with a current licence holder.
The Scotsman welcomed the news that the Board had endorsed his return to full ownership and running of HRT, promising fans the team would be back in business in 2009.
?Having been involved in motorsport in this country for almost 25 years I know the passion the public has for the Holden Racing Team,? Walkinshaw said.
?And I?m just as passionate about the team.?
Walkinshaw founded HRT with General Motors Holden in 1988, at the same time establishing the high performance car company Holden Special Vehicles.
His involvement in local motorsport extends beyond the five-time Bathurst 1000 and six-time V8 Supercar Championship winning HRT.
He was instrumental in establishing Holden Young Lions earlier this decade, which then became K-Mart Racing and is now known as the HSV Dealer Team.
But Walkinshaw?s time with the category has not all been a bed of roses.
In March 2007, Walkinshaw is understood to have taken 50 per cent ownership of Skaife Sports (which owns the HRT licences) in lieu of money owed.
At the time, a confidential memo from the now-defunct Touring Car Entrants Group Australia (it merged with the V8 Board at the start of the year) was leaked to the media saying Walkinshaw was not a ?person suitable to hold a controlling interest in a licence not to hold a licence in his own right?.
How Walkinshaw's status has changed a year later has not been officially clarified, but what has changed is the V8 Supercar company structure, the people who sit on the Board and the economic climate.
Walkinshaw, who has owned or provided engineering and support services to V8 Supercars and its predecessors since the mid 80s, said he was looking forward to the return of HRT?s domination of the Championship.
?We are determined to leave no stone unturned to fully deliver on the track in 2009, with the best team on and off the grid for the Holden Racing Team,? he said.
?Mark Skaife has stepped out of the team but that winning spirit which he engendered for so many years will live on as part of our rich history in V8 Supercars.?
