Back in the days of the early 2000s when the Black Eyed Peas were wondering where the love had gone, Captain Jack Sparrow was the poster boy of the moment and Facebook was barely a social networking dot on Myspace Tom’s radar, the first steps towards world domination were taken. September 2003 saw a foreign import in the form of Roland Dane take over a dwindling V8 Supercars team and reincarnate i
t as Triple Eight Race Engineering. Word on the street was that he had clocked up a few accomplishments overseas in the British Touring Car Championship, but that doesn’t hold a flame to our beloved Aussie beasts. Fast forward to 2012 and four V8 Supercars Teams and Drivers Championships later, along with five Bathurst 1000 wins, and Triple Eight were the powerhouse of pit lane. Over in Austria, a little bird had told another little bird that Red Bull’s long-awaited path into Supercars had finally been laid, and that was music sweeter to the ears than Maria singing to the Salzburg hills. After several top secret, undercover investigations and numerous talks in undisclosed locations, a partnership was created that promised to take the world by storm, and in 2013 Red Bull Racing Australia arrived on the scene in spectacular style. After four seasons, the bulls’ exploits roused one sleeping cat. This lion had been the long-reigning king of quite the pride in Aussie motorsport, but it was now time turn its attentions to just one promising cub. Thus, the pair’s relationship flourished in a display of Madagascar-esque unity that sent even David Attenborough into a high-octane frenzy (he’s a low-key rev head, fact) and the Red Bull Holden Racing Team was born in 2017. Fast forward to 2021; with eight drivers' championship, eight Bathurst 1000 wins and nine teams' championships in the books, the team welcomed Ampol Australia as co-naming rights partner of the team - a partner who has shared the journey of all these illustrious achievements with the team. Enter Red Bull Ampol Racing. While surreptitiously wishing the wildlife metaphors had stayed firmly in Sir Dave’s repertoire, you may be asking, ‘what does the future hold for Triple Eight Race Engineering and Red Bull Ampol Racing?’. That is a good question, but one thing is for sure – there is much more silverware to be won.
