Holden Dealer Team
 Holden Dealer Team
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Full Name | Holden Dealer Team (CART) |
| Base | Gold Coast, Australia |
| Founder(s) | Mark Reuss |
| Team Principal(s) | Adam Rogers |
| Technical Director | Adam Rogers |
| Current Drivers | #15 - Craig Lowndes #26 -  Paul Tracy
|
| Other Noted Drivers | None |
| Debut | 2002 Alternate CART season |
| Races | 10 |
| Constructors' Championships | 0 |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 1 |
| Points | 117 |
| Pole Positions | 0 |
| Fastest Laps | 0 |
The Holden Dealer Team (also known as HDT) is an Australian racing team, founded by General Motors businessman Mark Reuss in an effort to market the Holden marque globally as well as in Australia. Currently the team is participating in the 2002 Alternate CART season with full-time drivers Craig Lowndes and Paul Tracy.
Creation
After already successfully fielding several vehicles in the Australian V8 Supercars series, Holden as a manufacturer were looking to expand globally with motorsport. When it was announced that Holden had been selected as one of the engine suppliers for the 2002 Alternate CART season, Holden jumped at the chance to field its own works team. Initially planning to launch as another branch of the Holden Racing Team, they ran into legal issues with the name and instead revived the team name made famous by Peter Brock, the Holden Dealer Team.
The HDT was designed with specific aims in mind, and one of these was to get more Australian drivers into open-wheel cars. Craig Lowndes had previously been testing with some open-wheel teams following many years of success in the Australian V8 Supercars series, and was approached to drive very early. Jumping at the chance to race for the team his hero and mentor Peter Brock raced for, Lowndes quickly signed up, relishing the chance to face off against fellow ex-V8 driver Jason Bright.
HDT however also saw the need for an experienced North American driver to join their ranks. After being snubbed by many other teams Paul Tracy approached HDT, hoping to provide many years of success and enjoying the challenge of being part of a new team from the ground up, partnering the younger Lowndes.
2002 Alternate CART Season
The Holden Dealer Team is the only team running the Van Diemen CC02 chassis, and they are hoping this will provide a distinct advantage at some tracks. HDT are particularly ambitious for the result of the home race at the Honda Indy 300 held in Surfers Paradise, Australia - just down the road from the team's headquarters.
The team made a fairly consistent start to the season, Paul Tracy surprising many by mixing with the front-runners from time to time and posting an impressive 4th place at Watkins Glen. Lowndes posted 8th in Round Two of the championship but has had his fair share of accidents as he struggles to come to terms with the format. However he, like Tracy has also proved to be capable of top 10 results, and it seemed only a matter of time that one of the drivers got on the podium.
The drivers had mixed fortunes at Road America. Paul Tracy qualified extremely well, setting the 5th fastest time, but inversely Craig Lowndes' best time was an incredible 4.8 seconds slower down in 43rd, failing to qualify for the race. In the race Tracy went on to score HDT's first ever podium with 3rd place, and Lowndes was sat down and told that a repeat performance would see him sent back home. Both drivers produced a strong return at Nazareth with top 10 finishes, promoting Tracy to 4th place in the Driver's Championship.
Paul Tracy continued to produce a solid run of top 10 finishes at Atlanta and Wisconsin to maintain 4th place in the driver's championship. Craig Lowndes, on the other hand, struggled for consistency and was languishing down in 19th place in the championship. This changed at the first international race of the season, where Lowndes stunned by placing 4th with his best result to date. Tracy also had a strong showing to place 6th, his 5th top 10 result in a row.
Racing Results
Alternate CART Results
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | # | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Van Diemen CC02 | Holden | 
|
LBH | LSC | MCH | WGL | SFR | ELK | NAZ | ATL | WIS | ROC | HAM | SIL | DEU | FRA | MIA | POC | JAP | AUS | CAN | FON | 86* | |||
| 15 | Craig Lowndes
|
Ret | 8 | Ret | 17 | 10 | DNQ | 9 | 14 | 27 | 4 | 16th | |||||||||||||||
| 26 | Paul Tracy
|
7 | 11 | Ret | 4 | 22 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 4th |
* Season in progress.