Triple Eight Race Engineering
| ) | |
| Round wins | 105 |
|---|---|
| Race wins | 252 |
| Pole positions | 150 |
| 2024 position | 1st (5868 pts) |
Triple Eight Race Engineering, branded as Red Bull Ampol Racing in Supercars, is an Australian motor racing team competing in the
The team currently runs two Chevrolet Camaros for Broc Feeney and Will Brown. Additionally, the team provides technical support to PremiAir Racing. The team performs its testing at Queensland Raceway.
History
Team Betta Electrical
The team debuted at the
Having led the championship to Round 11, Lowndes lost the series lead at the Symmons Plains weekend. Having seen a big chunk of his lead evaporate at the previous round on the Gold Coast following two penalties for dangerous driving approaching the starting grid, the pressure was on Lowndes to perform at the Tasmania event. Unfortunately for Lowndes, he was caught in a massive crash on the opening lap of the first race, forcing him to the rear of the grid for the next race. He recovered, but he lost the series lead to Rick Kelly, who took a handy 73-point lead. At the next round in Bahrain, Lowndes stormed back into contention as Kelly encountered problems of his own. The stage was set for a spectacular finale at Phillip Island, with the two contenders separated by just seven points.
Lowndes qualified on the third row of the grid, while Kelly was further back on the fifth row. However, Kelly fought back in the first race to be right on Lowndes' bumper at the conclusion of the race – Lowndes was fourth, Kelly fifth. In the second race, Lowndes came third while Kelly was fourth – again close behind. The points going into the final race of the year were tied. On the second lap of the final race, Kelly pushed Lowndes on the rear bumper while in the high-speed section between Turns 3 and 4, sending Lowndes into a spin, eventually cleaning out both Lowndes and Todd Kelly (Rick's older brother). Rick Kelly was given a drive-through penalty and finished 18th. Lowndes' car was extensively damaged and was only able to salvage 29th place. Rick Kelly had won the championship.
However, Lowndes and his Triple Eight team protested, claiming that Kelly had deliberately taken Lowndes out of the race. The stewards, after deliberation, dismissed the appeal, saying that the drive-through penalty was sufficient punishment for Kelly. Furthermore, Lowndes and Triple Eight accused the
Team Vodafone
In
In
In
Change to Holden
In 2010 the team switched to racing
The team celebrated the first race of the year with a 1-2 finish with Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes respectively. Jamie Whincup won both races in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, and Hamilton, but lost the championship lead after troubled races at Queensland Raceway and Winton, while teammate Craig Lowndes finished on the podium several times. They also had a great result at Bathurst with a 1-2 finish with Craig Lowndes, Mark Skaife and Jamie Whincup, Steve Owen respectively. Whincup finished the year in 2nd, with Lowndes in 4th.
In 2011, Whincup regained the championship from Lowndes with the team winning the Teams Championship.
During the
Red Bull Racing Australia
In June 2012, Vodafone announced it would not renew the sponsorship.[4] In August 2012, Red Bull took over the naming rights for the 2013 V8 Supercars season onwards.[5]
In the
Lowndes is contracted until the end of 2017,[7] and Whincup until the end of 2018.[8] In 2016, a third car was added for Shane van Gisbergen, with the team purchasing a Racing Entitlement Contract that was last used in 2014 by James Rosenberg Racing.[7][9] Van Gisbergen won the
Team Vortex
In 2016 and 2017, Lowndes raced under the banner of Team Vortex, with Whincup and van Gisbergen under the Red Bull Racing Australia banner.
Autobarn Lowndes Racing
In 2018, Lowndes raced under the banner of
Red Bull Holden Racing Team
From 2017 until 2020, Triple Eight was the factory Holden team being rebranded as the Red Bull Holden Racing Team.[10] The team was responsible for developing the ZB Commodore that debut in 2018. They also lead development for the expected V6 twin-turbo engine that was to be the replacement to the V8 engine in the future, all without the guidance of former technical director Ludo Lacroix. However, in April 2018, Holden announced it had chosen to halt the development of the turbocharged V6 engine and that it would be sticking with its V8 layout for the time being. This meant that the scheduled wildcard entry the team was planning to enter never happened.
Red Bull Ampol Racing
For 2021 and beyond, Triple Eight rebranded to Red Bull Ampol Racing due to the Holden brand being retired at the end of 2020. This was the first time that Triple Eight raced without factory support from Holden since joining the brand in 2010 and only the second time in its V8 Supercars history without any factory support (the last time being 2009). Ampol, formerly known as Caltex Australia, replaced Holden as one of Triple Eight's major sponsors alongside longtime partner Red Bull.
Despite the name change, Triple Eight continued with Holden Commodores for both 2021 and 2022. The Chevrolet Camaro made its debut in 2023 along with Gen3. Jamie Whincup retired after 2021, his 16th and final full time season with Triple Eight,[11] and was replaced by Broc Feeney. Shane van Gisbergen continues to drive for the team.
For 2023 and the new Gen 3 cars, Triple Eight along with all other Holden teams switched to the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 after General Motors shut down the Holden brand. Shane van Gisbergen and Broc Feeney continue to drive.
For 2024, Shane van Gisbergen announce his move away from V8 Supercars to NASCAR with Trackhouse Racing.[12] Will Brown was brought on to replace him (with the car number changing to 87) and partnered with Broc Feeney.
Triple Eight will switch to Ford for the 2026 season.[13]
Wildcard entries
The team entered an extra car at the
For the
For the
For the
for Sandown and Bathurst.For the 2024 season they ran a single
at Sandown and Bathurst.Development series
Triple Eight have previously entered cars in the
Car supplier
As well as building cars for its own use, Triple Eight has also built cars for other teams. It has provided chassis for
Ownership
Originally affiliated with champion British Touring Car Championship race team Triple Eight Racing and owned by Peter Butterly, Roland Dane, Ian Harrison and Derek Warwick, Dane later took majority ownership, with Harrison maintaining a minority shareholding.[25] In late 2015, Dane sold approximately a 30% shareholding in the team to Paul Dumbrell, Tim Miles and Trinette Schipkie, whilst his daughter Jessica and Jamie Whincup also bought minority stakes over the following years.[26][27]
In 2021, Roland Dane stepped down from his role as team principal in favour of retiring full-time driver Whincup, taking up a non-executive chairman role and selling his remaining shares in the business to Whincup and Jessica Dane.[28] New Zealand-based Scottish millionaire Tony Quinn additionally bought a 40% share of the team.[29]
In July 2024, Jessica Dane sold her shares in Triple Eight to team sponsors Earl Evans and Steven Blackmore, moving to the United States and taking up a role in General Motors' motorsport department.[30][31] In December 2024, Roland Dane stepped down as non-executive chairman and was replaced with Quinn's business partner Rex Devantier.[32]
Supercar drivers
The following is a list of drivers who have driven for the team in the Supercars Championship, in order of their first appearance. Drivers who only drove for the team on a part-time basis are listed in italics.
Paul Radisich (2003–04)
Dean Canto (2003–04)
Rickard Rydell (2003)
Max Wilson (2004)
Yvan Muller (2004–05)- Steven Ellery (2005)
- Craig Lowndes (2005–present)
- Adam Macrow (2005)
- Jamie Whincup (2006–present)
Allan Simonsen (2006–07, 2009)
Richard Lyons (2006–07, 2012)
Fabrizio Giovanardi (2008)- Marc Hynes (2008)
- James Thompson (2009)
- Steve Owen (2010)
- Mark Skaife (2010–11)
- Andy Priaulx (2010–11, 2013)
- Andrew Thompson (2011)
- Sébastien Bourdais (2011–12)
- Paul Dumbrell (2012–18)
- Warren Luff (2012–13)
- Mattias Ekström (2013)
- Steven Richards (2014–18)
- Shane van Gisbergen (2016–23)
- Alexandre Prémat (2016)
- Matt Campbell (2017)
- Earl Bamber (2018)
- Garth Tander (2019–22)
- Broc Feeney (2021–present)
- Russell Ingall (2021)
- Declan Fraser (2022)
- Richie Stanaway (2023)
- Zane Goddard (2023)
- Will Brown (2024-present)
- Scott Pye (2024-present)
- Cooper Murray (2024)
- Zach Bates (2025)
Super2 drivers
The following is a list of drivers who have driven for the team in the Super2 Series, in order of their first appearance. Drivers who drove for the team on a part-time basis are listed in Italics
- Andrew Thompson (2011)
- Scott Pye (2012)
- Casey Stoner (2013)
- Kurt Kostecki (2019)
- Brenton Grove (2019)
- Angelo Mouzouris (2020−21)
- Broc Feeney (2021)
- Cameron Hill (2022)
- Declan Fraser (2022)
- Jackson Walls (2025-)
- Ben Gomersall (2025-)
GT3 drivers
- Jamie Whincup (2019–present)
- Craig Lowndes (2019)
- Shane Van Gisbergen(2019–2023)
- Prince Jeffri Ibrahim(2019–2024)
Jazeman Jaafar (2019, 2022–present)
Maximilian Götz (2020, 2023)- Nick Foster (2020, 2022)
- Yasser Shahin (2020)
- Anton De Pasquale(2020)
- Sam Shahin (2020)
- Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim (2022–2024)
- Broc Feeney (2022–present)
- Kenny Habul (2022)
Martin Konrad (2022)
Jules Gounon (2022)- Luca Stolz (2022–present)
- Richie Stanaway (2023)
- Jordan Love (2023–present)
- Mikael Grenier(2023)
Complete Bathurst 1000 results
References
- ^ Triple Eight buys Briggs V8 team Crash.net
- ^ Craig Lowndes, Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Racing team in Holden switch Courier Mail 29 July 2009
- ^ Lowndes returns to Holden Archived 2009-08-01 at the Wayback Machine "Wide World of Sport"29 July 2009
- ^ Lee, Julian (7 June 2012). "Vodafone dumps cricket, motorsport sponsorship". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- ^ "Red Bull Australia secure naming rights to sponsor Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden V8 Supercars". Fox Sports News. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- ^ 2013 V8 Supercars Championship Archived 2014-04-07 at the Wayback Machine V8 Supercars
- ^ a b "Van Gisbergen to join three car Triple Eight in 2016". Speedcafe. 6 March 2015.
- ^ "Jamie Whincup extends Triple Eight contract". Speedcafe. 5 February 2015.
- ^ "Triple Eight secures 26th V8 Supercars REC". Speedcafe. 29 May 2015.
- ^ "Holden commits to Supercars". Supercars. 16 August 2016.
- ^ "Whincup to retire, take over as Triple Eight boss". 2 February 2021.
- ^ Albert, Zack. "Trackhouse, Kaulig set up SVG for full Xfinity schedule, seven Cup races in '24". www.nascar.com.
- ^ Lamonato, Michael (31 January 2025). "Triple Eight to make bombshell Ford switch from 2026 in move set to shake up Supercars grid". Fox Sports. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
- ^ "Dane: Thompson is the perfect choice". SpeedCafe. 15 March 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
- ^ "Scott Pye confirms switch to Development Series". SpeedCafe. 1 February 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
- ^ "Casey Stoner signs one-year deal with Triple Eight". SpeedCafe. 27 January 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
- ^ "Paul Dumbrell to contest full Dunlop series". SpeedCafe. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
- ^ "Triple Eight signs Formula Ford champion". SpeedCafe. 10 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
- ^ Bartholomaeus (21 June 2010). "Fifth DJR Falcon added to its stable". SpeedCafe. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
- ^ "Triple Eight: Eight VEs is the limit". SpeedCafe. 1 February 2010. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
- ^ a b "Triple Eight's COTF production line at full speed". SpeedCafe. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
- ^ "Schwerkolt confirms Triple Eight customer deal". Speedcafe. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
- ^ "Matt Stone Racing ditches Ford for Holden". Speedcafe. 13 August 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- ^ Deal done: Team Sydney sold, renamed PremiAir Racing Speedcafe 13 January 2022
- ^ "Dane refutes Triple Eight sale talk". Speedcafe. 5 July 2014.
- ^ "Dane sells shares in Triple Eight". Auto Action. 1 December 2015. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016.
- ^ "Whincup buys share in Triple Eight". Speedcafe. 25 October 2018.
- ^ "Triple Eight's three-year plan under new management". Speedcafe. 10 February 2022.
- ^ "Tony Quinn becomes major shareholder in Triple Eight". 3 February 2021.
- ^ "Dane lands plum job in the US". V8 Sleuth. 14 May 2024.
- ^ "Triple Eight begins new era of ownership". Speedcafe. 12 July 2024.
- ^ "An Open Letter from Roland Dane". Triple Eight Race Engineering. 9 December 2024.
External links
