THERE were understandably mixed emotions for General Motors Supercars boss Simon McNamara following the Gold Coast 500 finale last Sunday.
While Chevrolet ace Anton De Pasquale just snuck through to the Sandown semi-finals in circumstances that have been widely debated, he did so on a day where no Camaros placed top 13.
“It’s very difficult to cop, it’s a hard day to watch, but we got a car through to the next round of the finals and that’s what matters,” McNamara told V8 Sleuth.
History shows it is just the fourth occasion in the entire history of the ATCC/Supercars Championship where GM had no representation in the top 13 of a race.
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The previous instances?
Winton 1985 in which no Holdens started, Oran Park 1979 (under 2L race), and Mallala 1969.
McNamara though remains adamant that things are trending in the right direction for GM’s post-Triple Eight era.
“There’s positive movement forward from our group. It may not have looked like it (on Sunday), but to me there is, and that’s the best thing we can do as a group and we’re working hard to make sure that continues,” he said.
“It has been a difficult year but we have positive movement forward. We had a good Bathurst in terms of all the cars showed some speed, and it’s a good thing to have Anton through, who has done a great job all year to be honest and deserves to be there.
“It is great for us and our teams and our brand to have a car in the finals, and the next track we think will be okay, so hopefully go to the last round of finals. But who knows, it’s a tough game.”
McNamara also reserved special praise for solo debutant Jarrod Hughes.
“He did an unbelievable job… he’d never been here before, and to drive against these blokes like that and be having a go down the inside of a guy that is seriously good and has the elbows out nicely in (Ryan Wood), it was a good job,” he said.