Supercars Archives - Octane Photography

Mar 08

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: KRE, Supercars

KRE signs exclusive GM Supercars engine deal

Supercars’ engine supply tug-of-war is at an end with KRE Race Engines signing an exclusive agreement with General Motors. The Ken McNamara-run KRE is the single engine supplier to Camaro teams. Motorsport Powertrains — which is owned and run by Dick Johnson Racing — supplies engines to Ford teams. Questions over KRE’s engine supply future were raised after current General Motors homologation squad Triple Eight Race Engineering announced its move to Ford from 2026. Triple Eight had declared KRE would take on the Ford engine supply from 2026 when it announced its own switch to the Blue Oval back in January. That was met with heavy resistance from GM, Supercars and various teams in the paddock. McNamara has now shut down the saga by signing an exclusive GM contract, which covers the 2025 and ’26 seasons. The news has been trumpeted by GM in a brief statement from local Chevrolet Racing boss Chris Payne. “We believe that the powertrain is a critical part of the DNA in the sport of Supercars, and that the fans want to see that aspect of the competition continue with strong brand differentiation,” said Payne. “We look forward to working with and extending our relationship […]

Mar 05

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Supercars, Toyota

Toyota in second Supercars team talks

Toyota believes it is closing in on its second Supercars team despite the complicating factor of the GM homologation team saga. The Japanese carmaker has been working to a clear plan for its entry to Supercars next season which involves there being four new Supras on the grid. Two will come from homologation outfit Walkinshaw Andretti United with a second yet-to-be-appointed team to run the other two. Following the Toyota announcement there was a flurry of interest in the second Toyota ‘slot’ with Team 18 quickly emerging as the favourite to land a Supra deal. That has since been deeply complicated by Triple Eight’s impending defection to Ford, which has given GM the carrot of homologation duties to shop around to its current line-up. That too has seemingly piqued Team 18’s interest with the squad being touted as a frontrunner along with PremiAir Racing. It could be that whichever doesn’t end up as the GM HT will switch to Toyota. Not that Toyota’s marketing boss Sean Hanley, who has driven the Supercars program, is worried about what GM may have to offer its teams. “We can only control what we control,” he told Speedcafe. “We had no knowledge of anything that was happening […]

Feb 25

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Ford, Grove, Supercars

Grove sticks with Ford

Grove Racing could have turned to Chevrolet or Toyota next year but believes sticking with Ford is the way forward. GM is on the search for a new homologation team to replace Ford-bound Triple Eight Race Engineering. Though it is not the only team on GM’s radar, it’s understood the US giant approached Grove Racing about becoming the homologation team. However, the Melbourne-based squad has no interest in cutting its ties to Ford. Fundamentally, there are several reasons for sticking with Ford. The cost associated with the switch would be exorbitant in Grove’s eyes, whether that’s to Chevrolet or even Toyota. Grove also sees benefits in Triple Eight making the move to Ford and what impact it’ll have on his team. Add to that, Ford has certainty in its Mustang platform for the foreseeable future. GM, meanwhile, has a significant question mark attached given the demise of the Camaro platform and no clear replacement looming. “There’s been a lot of change and there’s a lot of discussion in pit lane about where teams are going,” Grove told Speedcafe. “Our allegiance is to Ford and long term we want to continue to grow the relationship. “I’m super excited about Triple Eight […]

Feb 21

by darren in Track 0 comments tags: Randle, Supercars, Tickford

Thomas Randle Multi-Cam Bathurst Lap

Thomas Randle multi-cam onboard lap of Bathurst for Tickford Racing.

Feb 16

by darren in Track 0 comments tags: Supercars, Taupo, Waters

Waters Pole Lap Taupo Super400 2024

Cam Waters on-board Pole Lap at the 2024 Taupo Super400

Feb 15

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: De Pasquale, Supercars, Team18

De Pasquale reacts to new Team18 chassis

The Supercar once destined to become part of Will Brown’s title defence has made its track debut in the hands of his former Erebus Motorsport ally Anton De Pasquale. Triple Eight had chipped away at a new chassis to reward which ever of its drivers won the 2024 Championship, with Brown prevailing over teammate Broc Feeney. However, that chassis was sold in December when Team18 came calling and it has now been assembled as De Pasquale’s #18 DeWalt Camaro. Pasquale hailed his maiden drive aboard Team 18’s new chassis as “faultless,” following the star recruit’s laps at a shakedown at Winton Motor Raceway. De Pasquale got behind the wheel of his newly-built Chevrolet Camaro on Thursday, with the former Dick Johnson Racing driver joined by new teammate David Reynolds. The fourth Gen3 Camaro built by the team, chassis T18-004, takes over from chassis T18-002, which was previously driven by Mark Winterbottom in 2023 and 2024. Reynolds will begin the 2025 campaign behind the wheel of T18-003, the chassis he drove at the 2024 Gold Coast and Adelaide rounds, while T18-002 will transition to serve as the team’s spare car for the upcoming season. De Pasquale got laps in T18-002 in a […]

Feb 02

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Ford, Supercars, Triple Eight

Triple Eight switches to Ford from 2026

Reigning Supercars champion team Triple Eight Race Engineering has confirmed it will field Ford Mustangs from 2026. In a blockbuster Supercars story, Triple Eight and Ford revealed they will rejoin forces, 15 years after the championship-winning squad defected from the Blue Oval to General Motors. The news was confirmed on Friday, less than three weeks before the beginning of the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship. Triple Eight will continue to compete as Red Bull Ampol Racing. Renders and a real-life livery of Red Bull Ampol Ford Mustang Supercars have also been revealed, giving fans an early look of what to expect when the 2026 season gets underway. Additionally, Triple Eight has also been nominated to become Ford’s homologation team in Supercars, subject to ratification by a majority vote of Ford’s Supercars teams. The dominant team of Supercars of the last 15 years, Triple Eight returns to Ford, having begun life in the championship in 2003 with the famous brand. As a Ford team, Triple Eight claimed the driver-team championship double in 2008, won another drivers’ title in 2009, and three straight Bathurst 1000s between 2006 and 2008. Midway through 2009, in the most significant manufacturer move in Supercars history — until […]

Nov 07

by darren in Track 0 comments tags: Bathurst, Kostecki, Supercars

Back to Back for Brodie

Brodie Kostekie goes back to back for Pole at the 2024 Bathurst 1000 for Erebus Motorsport

Oct 28

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Erebus, Kostecki, Supercars

Should Kostecki have stayed at Erebus

As Brodie Kostecki nears the end of his tenure, Erebus Motorsport is back to its winning best and Dick Johnson Racing is mired in the midpack. The frayed relationship between the respective parties has long been intimated and for reasons never fully explained publicly by anyone, Kostecki sat out the first two rounds of 2024. Kostecki returned for the third event in Taupō where Erebus Motorsport CEO Barry Ryan put a stake in the ground – the drivers’ championship was a distant dream but the team would win the Bathurst 1000. He was true to his word. After winning the Great Race, that momentum continued on the streets of Surfers Paradise where Kostecki enjoyed his first solo win of the season. So what changed? “It’s been a bit of a momentum shift in the last three or four months. Everybody is happy and excited to be racing again,” said Ryan after the Gold Coast 500. “At the start of the year was a shit fight. We’ve got to be honest about it, we dug deep and we’re all in a good head space including this champion. “I’m just so proud of the way he’s got through the year. “We had […]

Oct 15

by darren in The Feed 0 comments tags: Stanaway, Supercars

Stanaway locked in at PremiAir Racing

Grove Racing outcast Richie Stanaway will remain a full-time Supercars Championship driver in 2025, replacing Tim Slade at PremiAir Racing. Stanaway won the race for the hotly contested PremiAir seat following the Sandown 500. The ink has now dried with team owner Peter Xiberras ready to talk about securing the 32-year-old Kiwi. “There is no doubting Richie is exceptionally talented – you don’t have a CV like his or win the Bathurst 1000 by accident after all – and while he was forced to endure an early exit at Sandown this year, it was clear that he has what it takes, especially when the weather gods are against you,” Xiberras said. “We look forward to having Richie join our team alongside Jimmy Golding and seeing what we can achieve together.” Stanaway and Golding were teammates at Garry Rogers Motorsport in 2019. The former endured rough full-time Supercars seasons at Tickford Racing and GRM before spending three years out of the sport. He returned as a wildcard at Bathurst in 2022 before winning the Great Race with Triple Eight last year. Making a full-time comeback with Grove Racing in 2024, the team decided to cut him loose in favour of Super2 […]