Paul Dumbrell will line-up with Eggleston Motorsport for a full assault on the Dunlop Series this season.
The move to join the satellite Triple Eight outfit has been made to keep the 31-year-old ‘race fit’ ahead of his Pirtek Enduro Cup commitments alongside Jamie Whincup.
Dumbrell will steer the ex-Casey Stoner Holden that Eggleston added to its already two-strong fleet of ex-Triple Eight chassis late last year.
“I stopped driving V8 Supercars full-time at the end of 2011 and there’s absolutely no doubt you need to be doing some racing during the year to keep yourself sharp for those big races where there’s big pressure to perform,” said Dumbrell.
“That is exactly what joining Eggleston Motorsport is all about and it’s a no-brainer for me to join them to compete in the Dunlop Series this year.
“The fact they use Triple Eight-built Commodores mean I will be racing a machine as close as possible to the car I’ll drive with Jamie later in the year and Triple Eight’s John Russell is joining their engineering department, so it all connects well.
“The Eggleston team has been building into a serious contender in the series and are lifting the level higher in the category in all areas.
“I’ve worked very hard to make this Dunlop Series program fit in with my business commitments. It underlines how seriously I take the endurance races and how committed I am to Jamie, Roland Dane and Red Bull Racing Australia to perform well for them later in the year.
“There is absolutely no doubt too that the level of the development category has lifted enormously since I last competed in it back in 2002. I’m looking forward to Adelaide and getting back onto the track.”
Dumbrell joins Garry Jacobson in Eggleston’s Dunlop Series program, with its third driver yet-to-be-confirmed.
The 2012 Bathurst 1000 winner, who has nine years of full-time V8 Supercars Championship experience behind him, is now the hot favourite to win the Dunlop Series title ahead of the opening round at Adelaide’s Clipsal 500.
