Triple Eight Race Engineering (V8 Supercars)

:"This article concerns Triple Eight Race Engineering's V8 Supercar operation. For the BTCC team, see Triple 8 Race Engineering"

Triple Eight Race Engineering is one of the leading motorsport teams competing in the Australian V8 Supercars series. The team's title sponsor is Vodafone.

History

Triple Eight Race Engineering originated in the UK, winning 12 British Touring Car Championships before the decision to expand into the Australian V8 Supercars in late-2003. Triple Eight took over the Briggs Motorsport team which resided custom-built base at Bowen Hills (a Brisbane suburb), and employed 35 people (among them, former SBR engineer Campbell Little) to build a new pair of V8 Supercars for the 2004 season. Engineers in Brisbane worked closely with the Triple Eight staff in the UK, while team bosses managed to attract substantial financial support from Ford Australia, which has since been curtailed.

2004 was Triple Eight's first full season in V8 Supercars. It was a disappointing year for all involved, with both cars dogged by mechanical problems. Paul Radisich came 19th in the championship, while Max Wilson finished a lowly 28th. The team's car speed, however, was certainly up with the front-runners for many weekends.

2005 saw a massive form reversal for Triple Eight. Star driver Craig Lowndes was signed to replace Radisich, and Steve Ellery replaced Wilson. Lowndes in particular was a catalyst for change, which along with powerful and reliable SBR-sourced engines saw a massive improvement in the team's performance. Lowndes finished second in the championship, finishing the year strongly and narrowly missing out on snatching the title from Russell Ingall. Ellery came 13th. The year's highlights included a win to Lowndes and co-driver Yvan Muller in the Sandown 500, a third placing to Ellery and co-driver Adam Macrow at the Bathurst 1000. Lowndes won a further three rounds, and qualified on pole position four times (including Bathurst)

2006 saw a continuation of this strong form, with new recruit Jamie Whincup replacing Ellery, and making an instant impact in the form of a win at the Clipsal 500. Lowndes scored four round wins, including sharing victory at the Bathurst 1000 with Jamie Whincup, winning the inaugural Peter Brock Trophy.

The fight for the 2006 Championship

Having led the championship to Round 11, Lowndes lost the series lead at the Symmons Plains Raceway 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 opening 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 Toll HSV Dealer Team and the Holden Racing Team for bad sportsmanship - Mark Skaife was given a bad sportsmanship flag in Race 1 for blocking Lowndes, while Kelly's team-mate Garth Tander was given a drive-through penalty for blocking Lowndes in Race 2. After the appeals were dismissed, Lowndes declared himself the "moral champion". Some days later, Lowndes was awarded the prized Barry Sheene Medal, which was some consolation.

2007 Championship

In 2007, the team retained the services of Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes. The new title sponsor was Vodafone, replacing Betta Electrical. The team has won four rounds of the championship thus far, including both endurance races, Sandown and Bathurst. TeamVodafone's Jamie Whincup narrowly missed out on the 2007 drivers championship by 2 points, with Garth Tander and Toll HSV Racing Team winning the last race of the season (Phillip Island).

External links

* [http://www.tripleeight.com.au/ Triple Eight Race Engineering]
* [http://www.teamvodafone.com/ TeamVodafone]