Earthmoving equipment supplier Komatsu Australia has renewed its sponsorship of the Triple Eight Race Engineering V8 Supercars team, which runs under the Red Bull Racing Australia banner, for the ninth consecutive year.
The companies must be lucky for each other because in the years since the partnership began in 2008 Triple Eight has brought home six Driver Championships and seven Team Championships.
This year the number of drivers and cars swells to three with the introduction of New Zealander Shane Van Gisbergen, who will be at the wheel of the No.97 Holden Commodore VF.
The 2015 Gold Coast 600 and Sydney 500 race-winner joins six-time champion Jamie Whincup and V8 veteran Craig Lowndes, who celebrated 100 career wins, his sixth Bathurst win and a second outright in 2015.
“Nobody wins more races, achieves more at Bathurst, or takes more Championships than Triple Eight and we are proud and excited to be a part of the race to the 2016 Championship,” Komatsu Australia managing director and CEO Sean Taylor says, adding that the partnership reflected Komatsu’s drive to remain at the cutting edge of its industry.
“High performance machines, tough conditions and constant improvement; Komatsu and V8 Supercars have a lot in common,” Taylor says.
The partnership goes beyond mere stickers and patches on cars and race suits, Triple Eight Race Engineering Team owner Roland Dane says.
“It is a partnership of mutual support and mutual benefit,” he says. “Technical expertise and knowledge is shared, apprentices are mentored and lessons are learned.”
The 2016 V8 Supercars Championship gets underway at the Clipsal 500 Adelaide on March 3-6.