Triple Eight confirms three car driver line-up for 2016 onwards

Triple Eight Race Engineering have announced they will run three cars from 2016, with Craig Lowndes signing a new contract to continue racing alongside six-time champion Jamie Whincup, with New Zealander Shane Van Gisbergen joining the team from Tekno Autosports.

The Virginia, Queensland-based operation will be fielding three cars for the first time as a full-time programme, after having run a wildcard third car at the 2013 Bathurst 1000. Nine-time race winner Van Gisbergen, who races a Triple Eight-built Holden Commodore, moves across to join Whincup and Lowndes, which have been a driver pairing since 2006.

“Given the growing trend of larger teams and the intense competition that this brings, we felt that this is the ideal time to add another entry to our championship campaign to enhance the competitive depth of the team,” said Triple Eight Managing Director Roland Dane.

“With Jamie, Craig and now Shane at the wheels of the Triple Eight Holdens, we will be fielding the strongest line-up in one of the world’s most closely fought categories, but for now we are focussing on the 2015 championship.”

Jonathon Webb, owner of Tekno Autosports added: “Obviously we are sorry to be losing Shane at the end of the year; we have shared a lot of success over the past two years and we are looking forward to another fantastic year together in 2015.”

Craig Lowndes has signed a new two-year deal with Triple Eight, which keeps him at the team until the end of 2017, with Red Bull also extending its commercial partnership with the team until the end of 2017, with an option on 2018.

“We’re all thrilled that Red Bull will be continuing their relationship with not just Triple Eight, but the category as a whole,” added Dane. “As a team, we have achieved some truly remarkable things together and we look forward to seeing what else can grow from this partnership over the coming years on and off the track.”