John Bowe: Red Bull up, even when chips are down

In life, you can be certain of only two things – death and taxes! To that you can now add Red Bull Triple Eight Racing. Their performance in Tasmania was so outstanding.

If I was an opposition team owner/manager I would have my head slumped in my hands. They were fastest and won everything including the chook raffle. Goodness me, what’s so special about these guys?

It’s the word ‘people’ – they are the very key to it. The Triple Eight people are very well molded and cohesive, including the drivers. They must all get on, even when the chips are down. Triple Eight give true meaning to the word TEAM.

In my long racing life, my success and enjoyment has gone up and down over the years, it's very dependent on the quality of people I worked with. At the top of the pyramid is their team leader.

I nominate Roland Dane for a motor racing Knighthood!

He is simply outstanding. He puts the people and the pieces together and lets them get on with it. That's true leadership. As for the division two teams, of which there are many – Garry Rogers Volvo and Scotty McLaughlin were once again fast and consistent and James Courtney continues to show us why he won a Championship.

The three and four car teams struggled to get all their cars performing. With the exception of Red Bull, most of the two car teams have cars spread across the grid. Why’s that so? It's because the category is so close and so competitive that a mini adjustment to the setup can impact the cars’ performance on such a short circuit.

If the car has an 11 out of 10 lap, it can catapult you towards the front of the grid or conversely, drop you like a stone if you don’t get it bang on.

While all the focus of late has been directed at the new blue Volvo (of GRM), it's easy to overlook the gains Erebus have been making. I have the ultimate respect for Ross Stone who knows that there are no miracles in racing.

It’s hard work and diligence that will reap the rewards. Will Davison's performance on Sunday showed they (Erebus) can no longer be discounted for a podium.

Will is a driver who’s capable of anything when his confidence is high. How good is it to have Betty and Daniel (Klimenko) in our sport? They are true racing enthusiasts who put their money where their mouth is! I find their presence very refreshing, it's a real shame the stodgy folk at Mercedes Benz Australia just don't get it!

This weekend’s trip to Winton in Northern Victoria puts a huge load on the crews, spare a thought for them. They don't see their families and work so hard to ensure their drivers have the best possible crack at a good result. I'm in awe of them all.

Lots of teams test at Winton, although I don't think it makes much of a difference to the overall picture. Sometimes it's a disadvantage, too much complication. One thing Red Bull do is they keep it simple, based on very strong engineering principles.

It's hard to bet against them, isn't it!

Did you catch up with the news this morning? It was 20 years ago Dick Johnson and I won 'The Great Race' – can you believe it?!  

My best years were with Dick (DJR) and I’m very close to him, Jill, Steve and the boys at DJR and there is plenty of love for them. I enjoy my new role with them, we’re always laughing – just like the ol' days. It’s a great (April Fool's!) story! 

Cheers,

JB

Follow John Bowe on Facebook. Bowe is supported by Wilson Security, Dunlop Super Dealers and Coates Hire, and competing in the 2014 Touring Car Masters Championship.