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Triple Eight\u2019s defection to Ford has blown a big hole in the General\u2019s ranks and left questions over whether Camaros will feature at the front of the field.<\/p>\n
GM responded to what it described as a blindsiding by Triple Eight just a day before the January 31 announcement with a number of key signings.<\/p>\n
They included poaching tech whiz Jeromy Moore, retaining Triple Eight stalwart Craig Lowndes and locking down engine supplier KRE.<\/p>\n
However, its replacement homologation squad, Team 18, remains with just one victory from 10 seasons as a standalone outfit \u2013 a far cry from Triple Eight\u2019s record.<\/p>\n
Erebus Motorsport, Matt Stone Racing and PremiAir Racing round out the GM ranks, with Brad Jones Racing having defected to Toyota.<\/p>\n
GM has expressed plans to implement a data sharing \u2018alliance\u2019 between its teams next season, although how many will opt into the program remains to be seen.<\/p>\n
Asked on the KTM Summer Grill if GM can still be a winner in 2026, Bala said: \u201cYeah absolutely.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, if anything, we\u2019ve shown how competitive we really are, and that we mean business.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know we have a lot of work to do that shouldn\u2019t be a surprise to anyone, and we are very self aware of that as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut like we\u2019ve always said, we\u2019re working towards the long game here. We\u2019ve got a long term strategy. We consider it\u2019s a marathon, not a sprint.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut yes, we absolutely are expecting and believe we will see some success next year, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
An unresolved element of GM\u2019s fightback strategy involves securing a star driver, with Bathurst 1000 winner Matt Payne known to be in the marques crosshairs<\/a>.<\/p>\n The company is eager to place Payne at Team 18 in 2027, but whether he is free to leave Grove Racing before \u201928 is currently unclear.<\/p>\n GM\u2019s 2026 driver line-up consists of Anton De Pasquale, David Reynolds, Cooper Murray, Jobe Stewart, Jack Le Brocq, Zach Bates, Jayden Ojeda and Declan Fraser.<\/p>\n De Pasquale (9 wins), Reynolds (8) and Le Brocq (2) are the only Supercars race winners among them, with the remainder in either their first or second seasons.<\/p>\n
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