Another year, another season and yet another championship… We all thrive off the fierce competition that is motorsport but nothing is more satisfying than seeing a smile across the face of the bossman – that’s Triple Eight MD Roland “RD” Dane.
Yep, the guy that pays us… If you want to afford that smashed avocado on the weekend, you’re going to want to put a smile on his face. And if you think that’s an easy task, you’d be (slightly) wrong…
While it’s not as doom and gloom as we’re making it sound, it does take a couple of wins here and there to get in the good books so Newcastle was pretty good – Sunday not Saturday, let’s not talk about Saturday.
Out of everyone, RD’s the one that will tell you if we’re doing a good job or not, so while we were in the good books, we managed to have a quick chat to him to see how we went this year. Here goes…
Red Bull Holden Racing Team: We keep saying that no one could have scripted the ‘grand final’ in Newcastle any better… Looking back at the whole season and how it ended, did it play out how you would have expected?
Roland Dane: It was as close as I thought it might be, frankly.
There’s always lessons to be learned, did you see any big lessons the team learnt and took on board throughout the year?
RD: The same lesson as always; the fewer mistakes you make, the more chance you have of snagging the big prizes.
We saw some fierce competition take their performance to another level which really pushed our guys – did you enjoy that rivalry and challenge this year?
RD: I enjoy having to work for the prizes whoever it is that we’re battling with. Each year the competition gets tighter because basic regulation stability will almost always have that affect.
The harder you work the more satisfying it is, right. We felt the brunt of the competition throughout our endurance season, how would you rate the team’s performance here?
RD: Poor – it wasn’t until the Gold Coast that we did a good enough job and even then we made errors. We could, and should, have won at Sandown, Bathurst and also the Sunday at the GC.
Jamie only claimed the drivers’ championship lead at the Gold Coast. Was there ever an element of doubt that he’d get there in the end?
RD: Plenty – it’s never over til it’s over as Sunday at Newcastle showed.
You’ve experienced a lot of highs in your time in motorsport, was there a moment this year that you’re most proud of?
RD: Sunday at Newcastle – the exact 180 degree opposite of the Saturday.
SVG said that from his own international racing experience, the Supercars category has the best quality of drivers – how do you think we compare to other international categories?
RD: Our racing is the best there is on four wheels. The drivers are a big part of that. We have at least ten drivers in Supercars who could hold their heads up high in any touring car or GT category in the world – as some of them already have and continue to do so, including SVG. Don’t forget that the race for the win at the Bathurst 12 Hour this year was essentially between SVG and Jamie.
Describe how Newcastle played out in five words…
RD: Zero to hero on Sunday.
What are some goals for the team next year?
RD: To win, win and win.
