"My dad works in B2B marketing. "He came by my school for career day "and said he was a big row as man. "Then he told everyone how much he loved "calculating his return on ad spend. "My friend's still laughing me to this day." - Not everyone gets B2B, but with LinkedIn, you'll be able to reach people who do. Get $100 credit on your next ad campaign. Go to linkedin.com/results to claim your credit. That's linkedin.com/results. Terms and conditions apply. Linked in, the place to be to be. - Please leave your message after the tune. - It's PC here, mate. I saw a journalist on what's on their phone. I'm just double checking your V8 booth night at Bathurst on the Thursday night, October 10th. I'm assuming it's still 730 kickoff at the Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Center. Gave you records only need a toilet because I only get one person there, so you better double check that. Anyway, it's gonna be a hell of a night, buddy. You and I session for over an hour with the fans as well. You got anything else you want? Careful what you wish for, mate. It's gonna be no whole buzz. We'll have a few laughs, track a few jokes. You'll be boring, I'll be exciting. But that's okay, that probably used to that. Anyway, oh, good mate. Look forward to it. Lots of stories, lots of bullshit. Should be a rip of a night. Very good. Speak soon. (beep) - A motorsport podcast network production. Hey everyone, welcome along, Castro Supercars Weekly for your Friday. And what a big week it's been in Supercars. Toyota are in. Oh, what a feeling. 2026, they're coming to the Repco Supercars Championship. I'll have a bit more on that in just a second. On this episode, a US trip for Supercars in 2025, a Singapore trip this weekend. Supercars in Goldman, well, sort of. And a Bathurst legend is making a return to racing this October. But before I get into all of that, I've got to tell you about Castro's Reggio to oil. On the Castro website, that's where you'll instantly know the best Castro products to unlock the edge of performance in your car. Just search for Reggio, the number two and oil, and you'll find out more. Now, if you've been under a rock this week, you will not know that Toyota is coming to Supercars in 2026. Announced mid-week, there was a special Gold Coast press briefing on Tuesday that V8 sleuth and a range of other media outlets were invited to. And I've got to tell you, I bet there was impressive about all of this and all of the stories and all of the angles was that this one was kept secret. In a sport and an industry that is unbelievable in terms of how much it leaks, this one didn't leak. This one was very impressive and caught a lot of people on the hop. And if anybody tells you that they knew about it in the lead up to getting the tip off, so basically so you all understand this, there was a major briefing on Tuesday on the Gold Coast. There was an email from a Toyota's PR agency that went out on Monday afternoon to invite relevant media to it. So I reckon if there's anybody who tells you that they knew Supercars and Toyota were on for a deal before they got that, at least that first email to tell about the media opportunity on the Tuesday, I reckon they're totally fiving themselves. But what a great week it's been. I mean, there is no bad news in this deal. And I see some people who are saying on socials that, well, why are they racing the Supra and they don't sell one with a V8, this, that, whatever. At the end of the day, this is about building GR. That's gazoo racing, that's Toyota's racing and performance brand. And if they decide it's a good thing, who's anyone else to tell them otherwise? So well done to everyone at Toyota, to Supercars, to Walkinsure and Dreda United, who will be the homologation team. It is really, really good news. So there's a lot of questions answered, but it does now raise a pile of other ones. So we know that Walkinsure and Dreda United will be the homologation team. So they'll look after the car, the aero package, the engine program. Of course, Walkinsure's with a long time engine shop that, well, in recent times has been sleeved back because of course, gen three engines for Chevs that've been, that racing the championship are looked after by Kenny Mac, KRE engines. And for those with forward through motorsport powertrains via DJR, which of course, WAU are now a Ford team. So that will be for 26. Of course, there'll be a pile of work going on next year to get all of that ready and prepared. This has been an 18 month project to bring this together. This didn't just happen in the last few weeks. And there's been so many people who clearly played massive roles in all of this stuff. And I reckon the guy that's probably, he was at the announcement. He was commenting on it in one of the video clips that I saw, but there's no doubt that with his Toyota relationship and his understanding of the sport, our old buddy, Uncle Neil, Neil Crompton, has been heavily involved in all of this. He probably will never clone much credit for it, but he has been a huge part of all of this. So this gives the category a super, super charging for the negotiations for its new rights deal, because don't forget the new rights deal will kick in at the start of 2026, which is at the same time that the new Toyota super, super car will make its race debut at round one of that season. So it's big news, it's great news. Even some rival teams that I've chatted to this week have said the same. They were just not so much impressed by the news because the world's biggest motor manufacturer coming to race in super cars is massive news, but the fact that it didn't leak that none of them had a sniff of this is probably the biggest thing that they were most impressed by than anything else. So out of all this Chaz Moss that Ryan would, they'll be super drivers, but who else will be super drivers? That's the next part of the conversation. Team 18 heavily linked this week by a range of media outlets, pretty obvious given Toyota forklifts and the links, Antoine de Pasquale is going there for next year to team up with David Reynolds, but we will wait and see on how this all unfolds. Ryan Wockenshaw went on the record the other day to say look, they're not interested at WAU in going back to being a four car operation, which they once upon a time were. So you'd have to say that, well, it'll be another team, but the question is who will it be that will be in Supras as well as WAU in 2026? And indeed, could there be a team additional to four cars that decides, well, you know what? We're not getting any money from GM or from Chevy. So why run a Camaro? Let's go and jump ship because we could do a deal with the Toyota dealer or we've got some sponsors in our sponsorship lineup who would like to see it happen. I wouldn't put it past someone else maybe adding a fifth and sixth car to the whole lineup of purely being running a Toyota just to be different. They might not get any money out of Toyota Australia or any factory support or anything along those lines, but it wouldn't shock me if something like that happened. The great thing with all of this is we have got plenty of time now, the next 15 or so months to go through all the permutations of how this is all going to work, the different milestones that will occur. We're going to get to see a version of that super at Bathurst at the Repco Bathurst 1000. So no doubt, there'll be plenty of Toyota presence there beyond, of course, their involvement in the GR Cup, which of course is the Toyota 86 series that's been relabeled for this year. Now, let's move on. Plenty of other news to cover off today on Castrol Supercars weekly. And Supercars has confirmed it will go back to the US next year because of course they'll need to ensure parity between Chef Ford and now Toyota. For 26, there's some draft plans in place that they will go back next year to the Winchi Wind Tunnel and AVL's transient dyno facilities that we use this year as part of the parity process between the Mustang and Camaro. Now, speaking of overseas trips, this weekend is the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix, Barclay Netafold, the Chairman of Supercar, Shane Howe, the CEO, Mark Pedjik, the Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer, are heading to Singapore as reported by News Limited today to meet with event organizers and no doubt, plenty of other people in and around that event. Now, it's probably deemed that a spot for next year is unlikely, but the chat is that it could be for 2026. They are still keen to add some international races to the calendar, which sounds next year like it's 13 rounds with Queensland Raceway making a return. The bend back for the 500 kilometer race, Sandown seems to be that it's gonna switch to being a single driver November event, but we would expect confirmation, probably Bathys Week of the calendar, so still a few weeks away before we can get the bits and pieces fully locked in. What is locked in? Locked in, I should say. The weekend before Bathys, Brock Feeney's gonna get behind the wheel of his 2022 Adelaide 500 winning Red Bull Commodore ZB, but not at a Supercar event. He's gonna run at an Australian Superbike event that's the first event at one Raceway, the old Wakefield Park that's been completely rebuilt and revised. It's now a two-direction circuit. So Brock's gonna do laps in both directions in that car. They'll have their current Red Bull Impole Camaros on display in the lead up to Bathys. So that's a great one. If you're a two-wheeled fan who loves a bit of four wheel, of course, Brock's old man, a gun bike rider back in the day, Paul Feeney. So that's a nice link there between ASB K and Brock and Red Bull Impole Racing. So that's something pretty cool to put in the diary. Now the full-course yellow at Sandown's 500 did cause plenty of debate, the slow race restarts that frustrated plenty of fans. Craig Bed was on the race control pod with me this week. Have a listen if you haven't heard it. Fair to say he's not a fan of the full-course yellow system or more so, I should say, the wave around element of it that really drags it out. Not a fan of that whole giving cars back a free kick, giving them a lap or laps back. Some drivers, including Cam Warders, are pushing for the speed to be lifted from 80 Ks to 100 kilometers per hour. There's more on our website, v8sluth.com.au, or you can actually hear Bedo on that pod it was released earlier this week. Go back and have a little bit of a check. Now I mentioned in the opener, a Bathurst legend is making a return to the mountain. It's gonna be in the V8 Sluth Heritage Revival. A multiple Bathurst 1000 winner is joining the field. It's gonna be at the wheel of a Group A era V8 Commodore. Now all the details will be on the V8 Sluth website. Tomorrow morning, that Saturday morning, check it from 8am, Australian Eastern Standard Time. So many more cool cars to come. John Bow is in the field in an STP Roadways Commodore. There is more cars, more names, more stuff to announce in upcoming weeks as we head to Bathurst, which is gonna be great. If you're not gonna be at Bathurst, you need to get a copy of the Repco Bathurst 1000. Official program, it's available now. It's available at superstore.v8sluth.com.au. The link is in the show notes. You can go through there. Order yourself a copy. If you go into the track, it will be on sale at the Repco track side store in Harris Park, in the merch area, and also at the top of the mountain as well. But if you're not gonna be there, get onto it. Get onto our website. Grab yourself a copy. Keep your collection of Bathurst 1000 programs going. Local news agencies in Bathurst do have some stock and the National Motor Racing Museum, our great friends at the museum have copies as well. So plenty of places for you to get them if you're gonna be in and around Bathurst in the next few weeks and during the event. If you're not, get on our website, get ordering. Don't miss out because we do have limited stock. Now, a little bit extra here today. If you're thinking, "Oh gee, I'd like to add "a V8 supercar to my man cave, or to my lady cave, "or to my cave of any sort of description," there's one available now. Up for auction, it's been launched today. The X Jason Bright Fujitsu Britec Ford Falcon V8 supercar. It's on the My105.com website. We'll put a link in the show so you can check it out. Plenty of details, plenty of photos, plenty of history, a car that raced in the Bathurst 1000. It is now being auctioned by My105.com with support from V8 sleuth, so cool car. If you wanted a cool track day car, or something to add to the collection, or if you wanted to go and do a bit of racing, definitely something to get your hands on there. Pretty cool, get bidding. It will close on October 3. Now, if you want to get closer to V8 sleuth, more podcast content, you can become a member of our pod. True, V8 sleuth podcast plus. It's available now. Add free episodes, bonus episodes, your chance to vote on future content, add much, much more. And it's a great way of supporting what we do. We really appreciate those who've jumped on board. Get to it now, v8 sleuth.supportingcast.fm. We'll put the link, as always, in the show, so you can follow through and get involved. Right, I'm done. Castrol Supercars weekly in the books for another week. Big weekend of preliminary finals, footy if you're an AFL fan, plenty of NRL finals if you're an NRL fan, and a few more sleeps to go if you're a Supercars fan. The Repco Bathurst 1000, October 10 to 13. It is gonna be great, we're gonna be there, we're gonna be right among it. But a bit of stuff going on in my world that I will tell you about, when I'm allowed to in upcoming weeks. In the meantime though, have a great weekend. Keep checking back to the v8 sleuth.com.u website, and I'll catch you next week for another edition of Castrol Supercars weekly. - Modusport is the ultimate test of performance. That's why BWT LPF1 team is proud to endorse HighSpec. Castrol's new hybrid performance standard. Castrol HighSpec engine oils, endorsed in Modusport, designed for every day. (dramatic music)
