Team 18 has expanded its management line up with the recruitment of respected engineer Tony Dowe.
Dowe has been appointed as the Purchasing Manager, which according to the team involves “the upkeep of the spare parts inventory” and also a key role in the Gen3 transition.
The Purchasing Manager role was previously part of Crew Chief Dennis Huijser‘s remit, though now becomes a standalone position.
Originating from the UK, Dowe has years of experience in the Repco Supercars Championship.
He was previously Kelly Racing’s Performance Director in 2011 before a lengthy stint at Walkinshaw Racing after switching across in 2012.
The veteran was involved in the Jaguar sportscar programme in the late 1980s and early 1990s, boasting success at both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 24 Hours of Daytona.
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Earlier in his career, Dowe worked with Ensign, Brabham, Wolf, Ligier, and Arrows in Formula 1.
“We are pleased to have Tony agree to join Team 18,” said Team Owner Charlie Schwerkolt.
“He possesses an outstanding wealth of successful racing experience and is a valuable addition to our racing operations.
“With new developments emerging daily for Gen3, it was critical for us to be on the front foot to prepare for the build of the new cars without compromising our focus on the final three rounds of this year’s championship, and appointments like this will contribute to that.
“To have someone of Tony’s experience in the team is invaluable and we have no doubt the entire team will be able to feed off his years of success in all forms of motorsport to drive the team forwards.”
Dowe and Huijser have an existing relationship as former Walkinshaw colleagues.
“I was in my garage at home working on my go-kart and Dennis [Huijser] called me,” said Dowe.
“I enjoyed working with him back in the Walkinshaw days and we have a very heads-up relationship, and we went from there.
‘It’s enjoyable for someone to pick up the phone and ask you to come and help and be part of the growing structure of the team.
“Gen3 is a huge undertaking because it is a complete car with very little carry-over from anything else previously.
“It’s an opportunity to put in place some structure for how we manage inventory and control what we order and look after the dollars and cents, because cash flow is always the thing that we must keep an eye on.
“I’ve been there and bought the t-shirt in so many other areas. I’m excited to find a situation where everything runs smoothly, we have all the bits we want in the time frame we need it as opposed to scrambling around at the last minute.
“There’s 97 working days to the first of February next year and that’s going to be a killer for all teams up and down pit lane if you don’t stay on top of things.”
The next round of the Supercars Championship is the Repco Bathurst 1000 from October 6-9.
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