With a roll call that includes some of the biggest name drivers, managers and technical staff in the world, there are few races the iconic team hasn’t contested.
Australia remains a country close to Walkinshaw’s racing heart with an involvement in local racing for just over three decades, beginning with the debut of the Holden Special Vehicles racing program in 1988.
However, TWR’s first trip to Australia was four years earlier in 1984 when be brought a pair of Mobil-backed Rovers to compete in Group A at the Bathurst 1000. The following year Tom returned but this time with three V12 Jaguar XJ-S race cars and won for the first time at Mt Panorama.
TWR’s relationship with Holden began in 1987 and from that Walkinshaw’s most famous team, the Holden Racing Team (HRT), was born. Over 26 years, HRT yielded seven Bathurst wins (1990, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2009, 2011) and six driver championship wins (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002). Walkinshaw also produced two other driver championship wins with their HSV Dealer team (2006, 2007) bringing their total to eight.