Schwerkolt pens letter to fans after big announcement
By Thomas Miles
Date posted: 11 April 2025
Team 18 owner Charlie Schwerkolt has penned a personal letter to the fans after the biggest announcement in his squad’s growing history.
A little more than a decade after arriving on the grid as a small one-car outfit running under the shadow of Ford Performance Racing, Team 18 will become the factory homologation team of the General Motors giant.
After two years with FPR, Schwerkolt moved his REC from Ford to Holden in 2015 alongside Walkinshaw.
He then broke free in 2016, setting up the standalone Team 18 outfit before expanding to the current two-car squad in 2020.
Six years later in 2026, Team 18 will hit the grid as the Chevrolet homologation team.
Schwerkolt and his team have come a long way since 2014 and the team owner had the following message to the fans on the latest and most significant step on the journey.
To all fans of Team 18, we’re honoured to share with you that Team 18 has been appointed as the Chevrolet Racing Homologation Team for the Supercars Championship.
The men in charge – Adrian Burgees Charlie Schwerkolt. Image: Mark Horsburgh
In this role, we will be working alongside GM Motorsports, and the other Chevy Racing teams, to ensure the competitiveness of the race car and engine in the Supercars series and the ongoing evolution of the Chevrolet Camaro Supercar platform.
While Team 18 is Chevrolet Racing’s official homologation partner, GM will call upon the expertise of the entire Camaro-based field— as part of a Chevrolet Racing alliance that will serve to make the entire field stronger.
As part of this partnership, we’ll gain access to the engineering powerhouse at GM’s Technical Centre in North Carolina – working alongside the same experts behind Chevrolet’s NASCAR and global motorsport programs.
GM and Chevrolet Racing are a powerhouse for a reason, and everyone, at every level, has been fantastic in welcoming our team to the fold.
Team 18 first teamed up with the “General” in 2015 with Lee Holdsworth. Image: Peter Norton
I know we share the same vision, and the same goal — to work closely with GM and all the other Chevy teams to see a Chevrolet Camaro cross the line first every race weekend.
From our humble beginnings, we’ve pushed to become a leading single-car team, expanded into a competitive two-car operation, and now we’ve been chosen to help represent Chevrolet on the biggest stage in Supercars.
This is a huge step forward for our team, our drivers, and for everyone who’s backed us on the journey – our incredible partners, supporters, and passionate fans.
We’re proud to wear the bowtie, we’re proud to represent you, and we’re just getting started.
Taupo Super440
Practice 1 – 1: A. Heimgartner 1:26.8830 2: Anton De Pasquale +0.0258 3: Matt Payne +0.0830
Practice 2 – 1: Ryan Wood 1:25.9778; 2: Brodie Kostecki +0.0435; 3: Thomas Randle +0.0838
Sat 8.25-8.55: Supercars Race 8 Qualifying
Sat 9.05-9.35: Supercars Race 9 Qualifying
Sat 10.50: Supercars Race 8 (37 laps)
Sat 14.05: Supercars Race 9 (37 laps)
Sun 8.35-9.05: Supercars Race 10 Qualifying
Sun 10.50-11.35: Supercars Race 10 Top 10 Shootout
Sun 13.05: Supercars Race 10 (61 laps)
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