Dick Johnson Racing Managing Director Ryan Story says he’s not anticipating any major changes to the team’s line-up beyond its driver pairing in 2021.
The Stapylton squad is expected to announce an all-new driver line-up this week, which has widely been tipped to include Will Davison and Anton De Pasquale.
Speaking with Speedcafe.com, Story said he does not envisage significant changes in the team’s working group, which is led by himself and Team Manager Ben Croke.
While Team Penske has parted company with the Dick Johnson Racing ownership group, the North American outfit will still remain in a sponsorship capacity.
“I’m not anticipating the need for any changes at all, really,” said Story.
“We’ve got a very, very good team. Great people, they know where we’re at.
“The reality is, we’ve built an incredible team here and our partnership with (Team) Penske has been incredible and something that we’ve benefited from enormously of course.
“They’ve been wonderful people to work with. They’ll still retain a relationship with the team and we’ll still be working with them, just in a different way. That’s simply as they’ve indicated due to the economic circumstances, being the rationale of them stepping back from Supercars.
“They’ll still be about the place, that’s for sure, and we’re looking forward to that.”
Two years after Roger Penske bought into the team, the Stapylton outfit went through a refit with the addition of Scott McLaughlin and top drawer engineer Ludo Lacroix.
That saw McLaughlin finish runner-up in the 2017 drivers’ championship title race before three successive title wins for the Kiwi.
The squad also claimed teams’ championship successes in 2017, 2019, and 2020.
Whilst Dick Johnson Racing has gone through an ownership change, Story said he does not envisage the team to suddenly stop succeeding.
“The way that we do things and the process, and procedures, and practices that we follow, none of that’s going to change,” said Story.
“It’s obviously proven to be very successful for us. We have no intention at all of changing any of those things.
“You’re talking about the same people. You’re talking about the same processes and that’s what’s obviously critical for the continuity for us.
“Certainly as we begin development for 2022 and beyond, it’s going to be essential that we maintain that momentum, in that way, in which we work.
“Behind the team is great people. The way in which our people act and operate is guided by systems of processes and procedures.
“Obviously there’s leadership within the business. We’ve got Ben Croke as our Team Manager, who runs the race team. Myself as Managing Director, who runs the team overall.
“Those sorts of things won’t change and there’s absolutely no reason whatsoever why any of it should. It certainly wouldn’t be to our benefit, that’s for sure.”
While Story wouldn’t be drawn on specifics of the team’s line-up, particularly engineer Lacroix, he said details around the make-up of the crew would be confirmed with its driver line-up announcement.
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