A Win to Remember

Some victories mean more than a trophy. In 2006, Lowndes and Whincup crossed the line at Mount Panorama and gave Triple Eight its first Bathurst 1000 victory – a moment filled with emotion, pride and the beginning of a legacy none of us could have imagined.

Triple Eight Race Engineering, competing as Red Bull Ampol Racing, and Grove Racing, competing as Penrite Racing, will battle it out on track at this year’s Bathurst 1000 with their eight Enduro Cup drivers, including Sprint Cup winner Broc Feeney and Supercars

Championship leader Matt Payne with the goal of donating up to $200,000 to charity RizeUp by race end.

• RizeUp Race Moments are twelve key on-track moments across four days of practice, qualifying and racing at the Bathurst 1000. Whichever team wins a RizeUp

Race Moment the opposing team will contribute a corresponding amount to the overall donation pool.

• Team owners Earl Evans (Red Bull Ampol Racing team) and Stephen Grove (Penrite Racing team) are backing the concept that adds another level of competitiveness between Supercars’ top two teams.• Shaw and Partners Financial Services will then match dollar for dollar the teams’ donation to RizeUp.

RizeUp are partnering with Triple Eight Race Engineering (Red Bull Ampol Racing team), Grove Racing (Penrite Racing team), Shaw and Partners Financial Services and the Grove Group for the Bathurst 1000 campaign which will bring the important cause to a new audience tuning in to the biggest race of the Supercars season. RizeUp, founded in 2015 by Nicolle Edwards, aims to be a national force for change, walking alongside individuals and families impacted by domestic and family violence to go beyond awareness to deliver practical, immediate support for victim-survivors. RizeUp and the work they do sits in the critical space beyond immediate crisis — supporting individuals and families as they move from violence toward safety, and from survival toward longer-term stability and wellbeing. Support from RizeUp creates the conditions for safety, stability, and the ability to move forward for those impacted by domestic and family violence.

Starting with the first practice session on Thursday, RizeUp Race Moments include: which team is faster in each of the six practice sessions, which driver is faster in qualifying between Will Brown vs Kai Allen and Broc Feeney vs Matt Payne, claiming pole position in the Top Ten

Shootout, fastest lap and most positions gained during the race, and the Bathurst 1000 race win by either team.

If any of the Triple Eight or Grove Racing cars claim pole position in the Top Ten Shootout and the Bathurst 1000 race win the overall donation pool could be up to $100,000. Shaw and Partners Financial Services and the Shaw and Partners Foundation will then match dollar for dollar the teams’ donation to RizeUp potentially bringing the overall donation total to $200,000 by race end.

For RizeUp, a $200,000 donation amount can mean support for individuals and families as either 800 trauma-informed support sessions, 800 beds for children and young people, 240 children’s bedroom set ups, or thirty-two complete home set ups for victim-survivors.

The Shaw and Partners Foundation, established in 2015, seeks to make a meaningful impact by offering funding and expert advice through various initiatives, and provides a platform for Shaw and Partners Financial Services to strengthen communities through financial support, volunteering and skills sharing.

A live donation pool tracker will be displayed at the back of the Red Bull Ampol Racing team garage with both teams also providing updates on the campaign throughout the Bathurst 1000 race week on social media.

The Bathurst 1000 starts on Thursday 8 October at Mount Panorama and will be broadcast free- to-air on Seven, 7mate and 7plus Sport.

Earl Evans, Owner, Triple Eight Race Engineering:

“Domestic and family violence is a significant issue in Australia, and one that we should all want to see change. RizeUp plays such a vital role in supporting families affected by domestic and family violence, providing practical support when they need it most and helping them rebuild their lives. ”“Bathurst is such a significant weekend for Australian motorsport, and we wanted to use the passion and energy that surrounds the race to support a cause that matters well beyond the track. Shaw and Partners are thrilled to be matching dollar for dollar all funds raised by Triple Eight Race Engineering and Grove Racing for RizeUp. ”

“It is a great opportunity to bring our teams, partners and the broader Bathurst community together behind an important cause, and we are very proud to be part of it.”

Nicolle Edwards, Founder and CEO, RizeUp Australia:

“We often say that the measure of a society is how we show up for people when their world has fallen apart, and this support is such a powerful example of that. ”

“To have organisations with this kind of reach choose to stand alongside RizeUp at an event as iconic as the Bathurst 1000 carries enormous weight. The funds raised will make a very real difference to the work we can do, and the impact of this support reaches even further. ”

“It helps bring the conversation about domestic and family violence to an even wider audience and reminds all of us that we have a role to play in prevention and ending violence. ”

“At RizeUp, our work is about supporting victim-survivors with the practical things they need while navigating the impacts of violence, but ultimately, what we are all working towards is a future where every person can live safely and free from violence. ”

“We are incredibly grateful to Shaw and Partners, the entire Triple Eight and Red Bull Ampol Racing team, and Grove Racing and Penrite Racing team for choosing to use their platforms in this way. This is what community looks like – people using what they have, where they are, to help create change. I hope people right across the Bathurst and motorsport community get behind them, because every dollar raised will help us be there for more victim-survivors when they need us.”

Stephen Grove, Executive Chairman, Grove Racing: “We all know that Grove Racing and Triple Eight are rivals on track, but when it comes to causes such as this, we are 100 per cent united “Together with Earl and the team at Triple Eight, Grove Racing is proud to put its support behind RizeUp who do amazing work in supporting those who are affected by domestic and family violence through this important donation.”

“We know that with our sport’s profile, particularly during the Bathurst 1000, we have a responsibility to raise awareness and provide support to those who are in situations no person should ever be. We know that there is absolutely no place for domestic and family violence in our community.”

Triple Eight Race Engineering has announced two key appointments to the Supercars performance team looking after the #888 and #88 Red Bull Ampol Racing Ford Mustangs driven by Will Brown and Broc Feeney.

Following the Queensland Raceway round of the Supercars Championship, Andrew Edwards, current Race Engineer for 2024 Supercars Champion Will Brown, has been promoted to the role of Head of Performance working across both Red Bull Ampol Racing Supercars. Since the promotion of Peter Ringwood to the role of Technical Director, following the departure of Jeromy Moore, there has been a performance focussed role vacant within the team. It will now be filled by Andrew Edwards as Triple Eight adapts to the resourcing requirements of being the Ford Homologation Team and engine supplier in its first year running the Ford Mustang Supercar package across three cars. Andrew Edwards moved to Triple Eight in 2022 after nearly two decades in the Supercars paddock (at Brad Jones Racing). He became Race Engineer for Shane van Gisbergen in his

Supercars Drivers Championship-winning season that year, SVG’s third career title. In 2024, Andrew teamed up with Triple Eight newcomer Will Brown for a dominant season, with a podium at each event, culminating in the 2024 Supercars Drivers Championship. Stepping into the role of Race Engineer for Will Brown in the #888 Red Bull Ampol Racing Ford Mustang will be David Cauchi. Among various stints in Supercars, David Cauchi was with Triple Eight from 2007 to 2021 and partnered with Jamie Whincup as Race Engineer for his 2014 and 2017 Supercars Drivers’ Championship-winning seasons. David Cauchi will attend the team’s Test Day on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, at Queensland Raceway in his new role as Race Engineer, with his first Supercars round as part of the #888 garage and crew at The Bend.

Jamie Whincup, Managing Director and Team Principal, Triple Eight Race Engineering: “We’ve been looking to build engineering depth at Triple Eight for some time now, and when you have both the opportunity and someone you know is 100% the right person for it you have to make that move – life is about taking those opportunities.” 

“We’re excited to announce that as of Monday following the Queensland Raceway round Andrew Edwards will be promoted to the role of Head of Performance at Triple Eight, a role previously filled by our current Technical Director Peter Ringwood.”

“This is a proud moment for everyone here at Triple Eight. Andrew is and has been for such a long time a key part of the business, the team and what we do so we’re thrilled he’s agreed to take on this challenge – there isn’t a better engineer for this role.”

“We are equally excited to announce that a familiar face in David Cauchi is back in our garage as Race Engineer on the #888 car driven by Will Brown (and Scott Pye for the Enduro Cup) for the remainder of the 2026 Supercars season.”

“Cauchi started his apprenticeship here, has celebrated Championships with this team, and his experience in the sport is up there with the best.”

“It’s about strengthening our engineering resources and process. That’s our key objective and we’re excited at what both Andrew and Cauchi can bring to these roles.”

David Cauchi, #888 Race Engineer, Red Bull Ampol Racing:

“I made the decision mid-way through last year to return to Brisbane, where I’ve been enjoying a full-time role outside of motorsport. When Jamie called asking if I’d return to my motorsport home, as race engineer for car #888 on a part-time basis, it’s simply an opportunity that’s very hard to turn down.”

“I spent fourteen years at Triple Eight, seven of those as JDub’s Race Engineer, experienced many incredible highs and of course, some lows along the way. I’m both excited and grateful for the opportunity. ” 

“It’ll be a baptism of fire, straight into Enduro Cup part of the season but I can’t wait to work with Will (Brown), as well as some new and many old teammates. ”

“I’d like to thank Jamie (Whincup), and also Will (Brown), Andrew (Edwards) and everyone at Triple Eight for the opportunity to have me back, and equally thank my new employer, Damien (Meneguzzo) from DMH Group, for allowing me the flexibility for a return stint at Triple Eight.”

Mark ‘Dutto’ Dutton, Team Manager of the Red Bull Ampol Racing team, gives an in depth preview of the upcoming round at The Bend, kicking off the Enduro Cup part of the Supercars calendar.

What is the energy like in the team at the moment following race wins for #888 and #88 at Queensland Raceway to finish the Sprint Cup?
This will possibly sound a bit odd, however the energy hasn’t changed a lot. We are blessed with a team that is super hard working and focused, and we have no misconceptions that we are still on a journey of understanding the Ford Mustang to the level we want to. The energy and focus all year has been intense and that continues, but yes the race wins at Queensland Raceway and winning the Sprint Cup were a welcomed and an appreciated accomplishment for our long game approach.

What does the team to do list and turnaround look like ahead of The Bend and the Enduro Cup?
The turnaround between Queensland Raceway and The Bend has actually been fairly tight, with the category’s second test day and also a big ride day happening the days following the event. Both days saw the co-drivers do a heap of laps which was brilliant.

It did put a lot of pressure on the engine shop, and Kaz and the boys had to push hard to get through a heap of the Ford teams’ engines as quick as possible to get them to Supercars to sign off on in time for The Bend, as is the process, so huge thanks going out to both parties – these legends don’t get enough credit of the behind the scenes work that doesn’t make the media.

Preparing for Enduros has the workshop floor an absolute buzz, fuel towers coming out of storage, being serviced, calibrations checked. The car fuel capacity change for the Enduros and carries over into the Finals, the capacity actually reduces from 133L to 127L, whilst this might sound counter intuitive for Endurance racing having less capacity, it is built around driver stints etc. and is the same for everyone.

The drivers and co-drivers have been in the workshop, smashing out driver change practice, time on the sim and a few briefings, so far we are looking on track in these areas.

If that doesn’t sound busy enough, at the test day we discovered a brake pad issue, this was shared with Supercars and other teams, with an urgent meeting called so all teams could communicate any braking issues they have had with Supercars. All teams and Supercars collaborated and shared information really well in this meeting, and the size of the problem became crystal clear as critical with Supercars working with the pad manufacturer to both produce and fly out a special rush batch of pads.

Supercars have schedule an unprecedented session to allow teams to bed brakes, something that is usually done on specific rigs for consistency and to not something that costs the teams time on track. With such a tight turn around on these pads, the rig bedding couldn’t be done. This will be a hot topic all weekend, and could play a part in shaping the race.

What are the changes to The Bend circuit this year and how do they impact set up, strategy and racing?
Teams have raced on this circuit before, during Covid times, so we do have previous data, it does feel like a lifetime ago though.

If you compare the track layouts, last year when you got to Turn 6 you hooked a left then had four right hand corners in a row, this put a lot of energy in the outside tyres, so you really had to manage your left hand tyres. You then had a left right then a decent back straight where the drivers could catch their breath momentarily before another busy complex of turns.

This year’s layout when we get to Turn 6, you have a sharp right and into a busy sequence of turns. While the removal of the quadruple rights makes the life a little easier for the tyres, the removal of the back straight makes it busier for the drivers.

The shorter lap distance means we need to do more laps to cover the 500km race distance, this year it is 147 laps compared to 102 laps last year, the minimum driver stint is based on approximately 37% percentage of race distance, which this year is 54 laps.

Over the last few years, The Bend has not been a happy hunting ground for us, with the team making too many uncharacteristic mistakes, this is a big focus for us. We know we are better than that, and we will be working hard to have a clean weekend, and continue to build on the pace and momentum we saw at Queensland Raceway last time out.

*Quotes not for republishing