We’ve had a fair few changes around the workshop this year, so you might not be familiar with the fresh faces in the Red Bull Racing Australia garage. Never fear, our rigorous job application process ensures only the best make their way onto the team, and only the VERY best actually get to touch the cars.
Enter from stage right – Cal Colquhoun. Straight out of the World Rally Championship, Cal heads back to the motherland, swapping VW Polos for VF Commodores. Trading in one Red Bull team for another (good choice, mate), Cal keeps himself busy as number two on car #88, working alongside number one mechanic Ty Freele.
We sat down with Cal to hear more about his transition and how life at Triple Eight is faring up.
Where were you before Triple Eight Race Engineering?
Before Triple Eight I was working in Germany at Volkswagen Motorsport where I was a number one mechanic in the WRC team. It was very fast paced!
How does working in V8 Supercars differ from WRC?
The V8 Supercars rounds have a tighter turnaround time and the events are a lot shorter. So instead of being away for a week like we were with the rally team we are only away for three to four days with the Supercars, but there are many more events. The race formats mean that I now get twice as much sleep as I did in rally, so I have gone from having about three hours to nearly six hours sleep. The WRC cars are designed to be really easy to work on and service because you are restricted on time, with a Supercar it is much bigger, and everything is much heavier, but still just as cool to watch.
What do you do in your role?
My role involves car build and service both at the workshop and at the track. When I am at the workshop I am busy fixing and preparing car #88, then when I am at the track I do the same plus being part of the pit stop crew.
What is the best part of working at T8?
The guys and girls! Everyone is great here; it’s like a huge family. The boys have loads of experience with the cars so they really helped me out when I started. Having our own chef is pretty sweet as I like to eat. Free Red Bull always helps too, but I had that in the rally team.
What has been your favourite event so far?
My favourite event so far has been Clipsal. Bringing home the first win of the season was a great experience. But of course I can’t wait to experience Bathurst.
There’s no doubting Cal has a bright future here on the team, he’s already settled in nicely and has become a staple piece of furniture in the RBRA workshop.
It might not compare to the frantic world of WRC, but with 12 rounds still to go (and not to mention the endurance season) we are sure we will put Cal through his paces – get ready mate!
