Triple Eight Race Engineering team manager Adrian Burgess has outlined his sheer delight at taking ‘his’ first Bathurst 1000 victory.
Burgess guided Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell to a thrilling Bathurst 1000 win yesterday ahead of a fast finishing David Reynolds.
The former Formula 1 team manager arrived in Australia with his family in 2006, originally working for Dick Johnson Racing. After winning the title with James Courtney in 2010, Burgess was poached by Triple Eight, where he was part of Whincup’s 2011 winning campaign.
That campaign, however, did not include a Bathurst win. Now, Burgess has a Bathurst 1000 trophy that he can call his own.
“I’ve wanted to do this ever since I got here in 2006,” Burgess told Speedcafe.com after the win.
“It’s an incredible feeling. It’s my first Bathurst win. And I’ll tell you, I want more. I’m a greedy little bugger like that!”
Whincup and Dumbrell’s victory wasn’t all smooth sailing, with the car suffering from delaminating tyre issues and barely crossed the line with enough fuel to finish the race.
Burgess said the team work within the organisation, particularly when the going got tough, was exemplary.
“The team work in this joint is incredible. They work so hard, and with all the issues we had with tyres, the positive thinking and dealing with the issues as they come at you, it was brilliant.
“The way Dutto (Mark Dutton) managed Jamie at the end, and the guys at the back giving us the numbers at the front of the house to allow us to do our job was an incredible display of how a team works. I’m so very proud to be part of it, and proud of the guys.”
The win sees Whincup hold a handy 161 point lead in the championship over Lowndes, who bounced ahead of Ford Performance Racing’s Mark Winterbottom. TeamVodafone also leads the team’s championship.
