7 out of 10 for Holden’s ZB Commodore in Australian Supercars
Holden’s new ZB Commodore is leading the way in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. It’s letting the Ford Falcon FG X to only 3 spots in the top ten and the Nissan Altima out of the picture.
The Commodore is in 7 of the top 10 places on the points table with the next event to be the Perth SuperSprint due to run on 4 - 6 May 2018 at the Barbagallo Raceway.
The key to Holden's success is based around the design of the car, the ZB Commodore uses composite material on the bonnet, roof and boot compared to steel used in the Fords and Nissans.
Parity in load is achieved however with the Commodore needing to carry additional weight but they have managed to put that in the floor of their cars, giving them a lower centre of gravity and ability to corner better than the Falcon and Altima.
Virgin Australia Supercars Championship top ten points table, April 2018:
1. Scott McLaughlin - Shell V-Power Racing Team - Ford Falcon FG X - 947.
2. David Reynolds -bErebus Penrite Racing - Holden Commodore ZB - 887.
3. Shane van Gisbergen - Red Bull Holden Racing Team - Holden Commodore ZB - 849.
4. Craig Loundes - Autobarn Lowndes Racing - Holden Commodore ZB - 813.
5. Jamie Whincup - Red Bull Holden Racing Team - Holden Commodore ZB - 805.
6. Scott Pye - Mobil 1 Boost Mobile Racing - Holden Commodore ZB - 745.
7. Chaz Mostert - Supercheap Auto Racing - Ford Falcon FG X - 695.
8. James Courtney - Mobil 1 Boost Mobile Racing - Holden Commodore ZB - 678.
8. Nick Percat - Tempur Racing - Holden Commodore ZB - 352.
9. Fabian Coulthard - Shell V-Power Racing Team - Ford Falcon FG – 662.
10. Tim Slade - Freightliner Racing - Holden Commodore ZB – 626.
The ZB Commodore has replaced the VF platform that has been racing since 2013 so it’s a bit unusual to see a Commodore hatchback racing in Supercars.
For marketing purposes, the ZB Commodore will be raced in a number of motorsport disciplines, however the race cars in general have no physical or mechanical relationship with the production model, other than their looks.
The ZB Commodore for the Supercars Championship is powered by the same V8 engine as was used in the VF. A turbo-charged V6 engine was under development for use in 2019, however that project was cancelled in April 2018.
When the decision was made to cease vehicle production in Australia and source Holden’s ZB Commodore from Europe, Opel was still under the ownership of General Motors.
That all changed on 1 August 2017 when Opel and Vauxhall were sold to Groupe PSA a French car company formerly known as PSA Peugeot Citroën manufacturing automobiles and motorcycles sold under the Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Opel and Vauxhall brands. Peugeot is the largest PSA brand worldwide, while Opel (together with its Vauxhall subsidiary) is the largest PSA brand in Europe.
The new owner of Opel has announced that they will transfer the Opel Insignia to PSA platforms as early as 2021, which means the current model would be discontinued as PSA plans to export PSA based Opel models globally from 2018.
May 2018