The competition between Triple Eight and Team 18 at Queensland Raceway has been heating up, showcasing the impressive progress of Team 18 under the guidance of Anton De Pasquale.
Rising Performance of Team 18
Owned by Charlie Schwerkolt, Team 18 has been gaining momentum in recent events, with De Pasquale achieving top five finishes at Hidden Valley, Townsville, and Ipswich. This surge in performance coincides with Team 18’s transition to a Chevrolet homologation squad and the recent shift of former Triple Eight technical director Jeromy Moore to a new role at GM. Although Moore has started his duties at GM, his contract release from Triple Eight restricts him from attending Supercars events or visiting team workshops.
Clarifying the Team’s Independence
Team 18’s engineer, Adrian Burgess, expressed frustration over comments made during the Ipswich TV broadcast suggesting that the team’s improved performance stemmed from information provided by Triple Eight or Moore. Burgess joined Team 18 at the beginning of 2024 and has since developed a robust engineering team led by technical director Geoff Slater. Initially established as a Triple Eight customer squad in 2016, Team 18 chose to build its Gen3 cars independently and does not utilize data from the Brisbane-based outfit.
A Focus on Internal Development
“The progression you’re seeing is only from Team 18 and the work that my guys are putting in,” Burgess stated in an interview with Speedcafe. He emphasized that the team opted for independence two years ago, and it takes time to cultivate the necessary philosophies and effectively collaborate with the drivers. This year, Team 18 has expanded its engineering group and brought in talented personnel, including Andrew Donnelly, who joined from Brad Jones Racing, another squad on Triple Eight’s customer list.
Maintaining Distance from Former Collaborations
While acknowledging that Donnelly has provided a boost, Burgess reiterated that Moore remains at a distance. “There hasn’t been any external influence yet,” he continued, just before a recent trip to the United States with GM. “We haven’t really had any input from JJ (Moore) yet, because he’s working through his exit strategy from T8, and we have to respect that. He can’t come to the tracks, he doesn’t visit our factory, so we haven’t really had too much interaction.”
Future Collaborations with GM
Despite the distance, Speedcafe reports that Moore was involved in Team 18’s trip to the US after Ipswich, primarily for his own fact-finding mission. Burgess confirmed that Moore would be utilized by Team 18 during Supercars’ wind tunnel testing program in December. The team is currently preparing its spare Camaro for transport to the US alongside a Triple Eight Ford Mustang and a Walkinshaw Andretti United Toyota Supra in late September.
Competitive Edge at Events
Burgess believes that the key to Team 18’s recent success lies in arriving at events with a more competitive package. “We have started to roll out of the truck in a more competitive state each Friday. The work that guys are doing in the factory has meant we’re rolling out in a stronger position,” he explained. “We’re not taking an axe to the car every Friday night like we used to; we’re just tuning small stuff instead of big, wholesale changes. It takes time to generate that.”
Upcoming Evaluation Day
Team 18 will return to the track at Winton on Thursday for an evaluation day focused on De Pasquale’s co-driver rookie, Harri Jones. Erebus Motorsport will also be present at the Victorian venue, taking advantage of the evaluation day rules to give Jarrod Hughes and Jobe Stewart laps ahead of The Bend 500, scheduled for September 12-14.