Triple Eight Race Engineering is more commonly known as TeamVodafone among supporters of the Australian V8. It is one of the leading motorsport teams of those who compete in the series. This is due in large part to the many wins which have been secured by drivers Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes. The secondary name of TeamVodafone comes from the team’s title sponsor, the telecommunications company Vodafone.
Early Days
The Triple Eight Race Engineering team started out racing in the British Touring Car Championships. The drivers did extremely well in this series and the team won twelve championship titles in total. In 2003, they made the decision to switch to V8 Supercar racing and took over the Briggs Motor Sport team. A new pair of V8 Supercars were built for the 2004 season using a hefty amount of financial support from Ford Australia. However, their first season did not go well. The drivers came in 19th and 28th places and the cars were plagued by mechanical problems.
The Come Back
In 2005, changes had been made to the cars and the drivers were replaced. Craig Lowndes joined the Triple Eight Race Engineering team in that year and with phenomenal driving managed to score 2nd place in the Championship. Lowndes won 4 rounds that year and qualified on pole position four times. In 2006 Jamie Whincup joined the team and they won 4 more rounds. The year was controversial, however, as Lowndes was tied in points for first place with Rick Kelly before the final match. Kelly bumped his car sending him spinning and because of damages, Lowndes was only able to finish in 29th place, while Kelly landed 18th and won the Championship.
Winning the Championship
In 2007, Triple Eight Race Engineering had another strong year, but Whincup barely missed becoming the new Champion when he lost to Garth Tander by 2 points. Still, he secured a solid 2nd place for the team and then they came back in 2008 with a vengeance. This was Whincup’s first year to win the championship. In 2009, he won again, while driving the new FG Falcons. The team had also won fifteen of the twenty three races during that year’s championship, with Whincup winning eleven of them.
The Switch to Holden
Just after their second Championship win with Ford, Triple Eight Race Engineering decided it was time to make a switch. They signed a three year contract with Holden and would begin driving new Holden VE Commodores in the 2010 series. They spent the entire off season building and tweaking the car. After securing wins in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain International Circuit, and Hamilton, Whincup was unable to defend his title as Champion, coming in 2nd place to James Courtney in 2010.
The team has decided not to build a new car this year. Instead, they plan to make a few tweaks to the one they worked so hard on last year. They are poised for another win. Whincup is looking forward to securing the title of Champion with both car manufacturers of the Australian V8. It will be an interesting and exciting year as the Triple Eight Race Engineering team tries to reclaim its old title.