Shop
Shell V-Power Racing Team boss Ryan Story says his team has done ‘a hell of a good job’ to break the Red Bull Holden Racing Team’s dominance in Supercars.
In the past decade, Triple Eight Race Engineering has won six drivers’ championships and seven teams’ championships.
From 2010 to 2016, the Banyo-based team won all but one teams’ championship.
However, in 2017, Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard broke that streak and led the Stapylton-based outfit to its first teams’ championship under its new guise as DJR Team Penske.
That year, McLaughlin fell agonisingly short in a title fight that went down to the final race of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship which was won by Jamie Whincup.
Since then though, McLaughlin has been unbeatable, winning the 2018, 2019, and 2020 drivers’ championships.
With finishes of fourth and fifth in this year’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, DJR Team Penske secured its third teams’ championship.
Story said having the edge over Triple Eight Race Engineering in recent years has been a momentous achievement for DJR Team Penske.
“I think we’ve relished it as much as they have,” Story told Speedcafe.com.
“The last thing that anyone wants is dominance that comes in and of its own accord.
“With great respect to Triple Eight, they’ve had it their own way for a number of years until we sort of came on song.
“Tickford have been there and took a championship in the FGX with Mark Winterbottom in 2015. But otherwise, they’ve (Triple Eight) had success somewhat unabated.
“It’s an absolute delight to beat them. Honestly, if you beat them, you’ve done a hell of a good job because they’re a hell of a team.”
Story said he was proud to rack up a third teams’ championship alongside the outfit’s other achievements this year.
“It’s fantastic, it’s two in a row for us,” Story told Speedcafe.com.
“If you look through the record for us for 2020, we’ve won the drivers’ championship, three in a row, with Scott. The teams’ championship, two in a row. The pole award, four in a row. The manufacturers’ championship for Ford, two in a row. And the Barry Sheene Medal for Scott, which is also a hell of an achievement.
“We’re very proud of our year. We’ve got some great people within the team. The drivers were certainly at the coalface but there’s a number of people behind them that support everything that they do and turn out great race cars for them. An incredible year for us and one we’re very, very proud of.”
