This time 10 years ago at Sandown, few in the V8 Supercars paddock could have predicted new-kid-on-the-block Triple Eight Race Engineering would become the powerhouse it is today. Back in the Europe however, the team’s mettle had already been proven.
Having conquered all before him in the British Touring Car Championship, team owner Roland Dane went in search of broader horizons – cue the move Down Under. On September 1, 2003 RD signed the papers to take-over Briggs Motorsport and at the Sandown 500 just days later, the team made its V8 Supercars debut.
“We’d achieved everything there was to achieve in the UK in a championship that was going stale,” RD said.
“V8 Supercars not only presented a new challenge for Triple Eight, but the series offered everything that was missing from the BTCC – raw excitement, adrenaline and the closest field in touring car racing anywhere in the world. Plus Bathurst.”
And so the stage was set for the mammoth task of not only catching HRT and Stone Brothers, but surpassing them in every way possible. Now 10 years on, Triple Eight can not only lay claim to four V8 Supercars team and driver championships, and five Bathurst 1000 titles, but also to supplying every team in pit lane with essential componentry.
The celebrations will be rolling all week, so stay tuned for some exciting announcements…
