Forget Ford – the fiercest rivalry in V8 Supercars may just be between two Holden teams despite Nissan emerging as a new threat on Thursday.
Pole position was claimed by Michael Caruso – and Nissan – for the first time when he topped qualifying for the opening race of the non-championship round at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
He clocked an impressive one minute, 55.83 ahead of Holden’s Shane van Gisbergen (1:56.02) and Volvo’s Scott McLaughlin (1:56.10).
No matter how impressive Nissan were, Holden’s two heavyweight teams only had each other in their sights after a remarkable war of words continued on Thursday.
Red Bull team boss Roland Dane has taken aim at Holden Racing Team owner Ryan Walkinshaw, saying he did not rate the 26-year-old and was “not able to identify with a generation of people who wear make up”.
It is the latest round in a fight sparked by Walkinshaw’s poaching of Red Bull team principal Adrian Burgess last August.
Dane labelled Burgess a “motor racing mercenary” and released him early from his contract upon hearing that his once prized employee had signed with Walkinshaw from 2014.
Dane has since mended bridges with Burgess, with the pair regularly seen chatting at the recent V8 season opening round in Adelaide.
The Red Bull boss even congratulated Burgess after HRT’s James Courtney claimed race three honours at Adelaide.
But Dane had no such plans for Walkinshaw who took over the HRT team after his father Tom’s death in December 2010.
“I don’t need to clear the air. I don’t have a problem with Adrian,” Dane said on the V8 Supercars website.
“I don’t have any time for his boss at all because his boss hasn’t got any runs on the board in motor racing yet and honestly I am not able to identify with a generation of people who wear make up.”
Burgess admitted Courtney’s Adelaide win was made sweeter by holding out Red Bull’s Craig Lowndes but said he had no problem with Dane.
“It’s a business. I probably would have done the same thing,” he said of his early release from Red Bull.
Nissan may be the next problem for both HRT and Red Bull judging by Thursday’s heroics.
Apart from Caruso’s efforts, two other Nissan drivers – Todd Kelly fifth and James Moffat eighth – featured in the top 10.
“I’ve got to admit it’s pretty unexpected,” Caruso said.
“This is my very first pole position so everyone’s very happy.”
The first of the Melbourne round’s four races starts at 11am AEDT on Friday.
