Supercars squad commits to SuperUtes entry
Supercars squad Team 18 has committed to running a factory-backed Holden Colorado in the new-for-2018 SuperUtes series.
Photo by: Team 18
Team 18 is the first full-blown Supercars team to dabble in the SuperUtes series, the Colorado set to be run out of the same workshop as the squad's Preston Hire-backed Commodore.
Major sponsorship for the Ute comes from the GM original parts maker AC Delco, while the car itself was built by Ross Stone Racing, which has played a major part in laying the technical foundation for the series.
As for the driver, Team 18 has signed up 15-year-old Queensland karting sensation Tomas Gasperak to pilot the Holden across the eight-round series.
According to Team 18 boss Charlie Schwerkolt, there is a factory-backed element to the programme.
“The Colorado is obviously a major focus at the moment for Holden and they see this as a strong fit for their business,” Schwerkolt told the official Supercars website.
“They wanted factory involvement and contacted us asking if we could run it for them.
“It only came up in late November, but at short notice we’ve put a plan together, which has included putting on three more staff.
“It’ll run as a separate operation within our team, led by experienced V8 Ute manager Andrew Newton, because we don’t want to take anything away from the Supercars team.”
The series is set to kick off at next week's Adelaide 500, with 11 Utes expected to make up the first ever grid.
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