FOR Supercars champion James Courtney, there’s one factor which is setting Triple Eight apart at the moment: engineering depth.
Between its Red Bull Ampol duo Will Brown and Broc Feeney, Triple Eight has accumulated 19 podiums including eight wins from 12 races this season.
At a time when machinery is more controlled than ever and indeed most of the field is arguably closer than ever – 10 different squads have already recorded either a podium or pole position in 2024 – Triple Eight is 910 points clear of its nearest rival in the teams’ championship.
“Week in, week out, even if they roll out and they’re not quick, they can turn the thing around so quick,” said Courtney.
“I think it’s just down to the depth in the team with their engineering.
“I think Pete Ringwood is a brain in there that probably doesn’t get enough credit for what he deserves, I think he does an amazing job. All the guys there do.
“And the two boys, they are obviously steering the thing pretty well. They are having a great little championship of their own at the moment but hopefully the rest of the field can catch up and start to mix it up with them.
“But they’re showing us a clean set of heels so far this year, really.”
The Blanchard Racing Team recruit added: “Gone are the days where previously we would have a good base set-up and you could sort of half run that at the majority of places we go and really just tweak it a little.
“Whereas it seems to have to be big swings with events that we go to now, so it’s probably harder work and it has become more of an engineering championship, and that depth I suppose at Triple Eight really shows with the results.”
Courtney does have history of toppling Triple Eight, including at Townsville which will host Round 6 of the season later this week.
He tasted victory at the very first Townsville Supercars round 15 years ago, pipping Jamie Whincup for his maiden win with Dick Johnson Racing.
“It was amazing. I remember rolling out and the thing was lit, right from practice we were a missile,” Courtney recalled.
“Those were the joys of having an old Triple Eight car at that point, it was super, super quick… to towel those boys up with their old stuff was pretty good!”
