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Chevrolet Camaro GT3 to be retired as Dale Patterson starts 2022 planning
A popular entry within the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS GT Trophy Class is Dale Patterson’s Reiter-built Chevrolet Camaro GT3, however after fleeting appearances this season it is set to be retired and replaced.
Patterson secured a second place in class at Phillip Island – a circuit not suited to the American brute – but with the interrupted season and business interests taking precedence, the Camaro has failed to appear since.
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Released by former Lamborghini GT3 homologation agent Reiter Engineering back in 2014, the Chevrolet Camaro was designed as an entry level into the burgeoning class. For 2015, the model made its Australian debut through M Motorsport as only 10 were made by Reiter during its production life.
Although a favourite amongst GT fans locally, the Camaro is starting to show its age compared to some of the latest additions in GT Trophy.
“It may look good, sound good, but it also needs to go good too,” said Patterson.
“It’s going well, it’s just a little behind the eight ball. We’re a little bit off where the Audis are and there are few other manufacturers dropping into GT trophy through age.
“Its evolution is too old now and we’re struggling to keep up.
“It might be a crowd favourite, but we’re starting to struggle to keep up with pace of the generation cars that are coming into GT Trophy, so that’s why we’re probably not going to run it next year.
“It’s a bit unfortunate we can’t run the Camaro, but it’s not worth running a car in that category if it’s not going to be super competitive even though we had a good result earlier this.”
Patterson’s major achievement was securing the 2019 GT Trophy title in the Camaro, a success he is very proud of.
“For us to win the 2019 GT Trophy Series, I think we did really well,” he recalled. “It cost a lot to keep the car reliable and on-track so it was a pretty rewarding result.
Committed to entering GT Trophy next year, Patterson stated he has “got options that I’m looking at for a few manufacturers” as a replacement for the Camaro, although he won’t be parting with the big brute anytime soon.
“We won’t be selling the Camaro, it’ll be parked up and shiny,” Patterson said.
“We’ll bring the Camaro out on occasions, we might run a few state meetings, but predominantly we’ll use it as a ride car and advertise it through or business.”