Roland Dane has emphatically rejected claims that he plans to sell a significant stake in powerhouse V8 Supercars outfit Triple Eight Race Engineering.
Speculation in the Townsville paddock has been rife that Dane plans to offload as much as 50 percent of his team to Brisbane-based sand mining identity Trinette Schipkie.
The Australian Triple Eight business is currently majority owned by Dane, with Triple Eight UK boss Ian Harrison holding a minority stake.
Harrison recently sold 50 percent of Triple Eight UK’s operations to British GT racer Lee Mowle and plays no direct role in the Australian effort.
“Everything is always for sale,” Dane told Speedcafe.com when approached about the sale conjecture.
“That’s always been my attitude all my life, but I haven’t sold anything to anyone.”
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Schipkie has been in the sand mining industry for over a decade and is currently a director of dredging firm GT Sands.
She has attended several V8 Supercars events this year as a guest of Triple Eight and is described by Dane as “a friend of mine”.
“People should not confuse sponsorship with anything else,” responded Dane when asked directly of Schipkie.
“You could say the same thing about Red Bull or half a dozen other sponsors.”
Dane, who is a current V8 Supercars Board member, has operated Triple Eight’s V8 Supercars efforts since the Australian arm was established to buy Briggs Motor Sport in 2003.
“I’m not going anywhere,” said Dane of his personal commitment to the championship.
“I’m sorry to all the people hoping, but until they cart me out in a box I suspect I’ll be around.”
Triple Eight’s own team has won five V8 Supercars Championships and five Bathurst 1000s in the last eight years, while Dick Johnson Racing took the 2010 title with a customer Triple Eight chassis.
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