{"id":498737,"date":"2026-02-23T11:32:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T11:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/498737\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T11:32:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T11:32:15","slug":"supercars-news-charlie-schwerkolt-hails-mustang-cup-win-for-camaro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/498737\/","title":{"rendered":"Supercars news: Charlie Schwerkolt hails \u2018Mustang Cup\u2019 win for Camaro"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Schwerkolt
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe #18 DeWalt Team 18 Chevrolet Camaro. Image: Jack Martin<\/p>\n

When Triple Eight Race Engineering held GM\u2019s homologation team rights through the transition from Holden to Chevrolet, there was no doubt about them.<\/p>\n

Triple Eight had hundreds of wins, hundreds of podiums, and championships in the double digits.<\/p>\n

When Team 18 got the homologation rights, it had just one race win to its credit from 10 seasons in Supercars.<\/p>\n

There were plenty who doubted them, and behind the scenes, Schwerkolt and team principal Adrian Burgess took umbrage with the doubters of the Mount Waverly-based Supercars squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to go back at people or anything like that, but there were people who have written \u2018They\u2019re never going to do anything, they\u2019re never going to make it\u2019,\u201d Schwerkolt told Speedcafe.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what happens when you put all the ingredients with the right people, the right equipment, the right structure, the right culture, all together.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got the best partners in pit lane, we\u2019ve got the best of so many things. I know what I\u2019m doing with the leadership of people like Waverley Forklifts, so it\u2019s got to work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019ll be a few people saying, \u2018Oh, they\u2019ll only get one win for the year\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a plan to get three wins for the year, three podiums, minimum third in the teams\u2019 championship. We were fifth last year. We\u2019ll just keep pushing along.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Anton<\/p>\n

Anton De Pasquale on the top step of the podium with runner-up Brodie Kostecki and Matt Payne. Image: InSyde Media<\/p>\n

When Triple Eight Race Engineering snatched the Ford homologation team rights from Dick Johnson Racing, there was the obvious question of who would head up the Chevrolet efforts.<\/p>\n

PremiAir Racing looked to be the most likely candidate during the negotiations, until Schwerkolt and Team 18 swooped in.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year I had to fight pretty hard to get GM to believe in us because PremiAir was in the box seat then and all that sort of stuff,\u201d said Schwerkolt.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I want something, and I fight for it, and prove that I\u2019ve got the goods, I fight pretty hard.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that\u2019s all good now, they\u2019re all happy and it\u2019s vindicated they\u2019ve made the right decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve triumphed in our first race weekend, so that\u2019s everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to just keep the journey going. It\u2019s a special time and a lot to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Charlie<\/p>\n

Charlie Schwerkolt celebrates Anton De Pasquale taking pole position for Race 2 at the Dunlop Sydney 500. Image: InSyde Media<\/p>\n

If there was one word to describe Saturday night\u2019s achievements, it was vindication.<\/p>\n

Schwerkolt hopes Anton De Pasquale\u2019s breakthrough win in the second race of the season will go some way to silencing the doubters.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday vindicated a lot of things for the team, sponsors, General Motors, Anton \u2014 there are a lot of things in all that, that we are the real deal, and we\u2019ve put it together,\u201d said Schwerkolt.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so, so proud. It\u2019s all there to be done. Yeah, sure, it\u2019s only one win, but it\u2019s actually raw speed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re at a Ford track. I joked around to say, we\u2019ve won the Ford Mustang Cup today in a Chev, so that means a lot to me too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schwerkolt noted the efforts of team principal Burgess among a raft of key people, including US-based engineer Jeromy Moore and General Motors head of motorsport Simon McNamara.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a plan a bit over two years ago to bring Adrian (Burgess) back to lead the whole thing and all that with me, and it\u2019s proven,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t do it without him, it\u2019s an instrumental part of the whole thing. It\u2019s really exciting and yeah, let\u2019s keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

De Pasquale\u2019s Race 2 win propelled him to the top of the drivers\u2019 championship.<\/p>\n

Teammate David Reynolds finished fifth, while Matt Stone Racing\u2019s Jack Le Brocq was the only other Chevrolet Camaro in 10th.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n


\"\"\/
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