Lacroix joins PremiAir Racing after DJR departure
PremiAir Racing signs engineer Ludo Lacroix for 2024 season
Lacroix departed Dick Johnson Racing in shake-up announced last year
French engineer enjoyed long stints with Triple Eight, DJR in Supercars
PremiAir Racing has signed decorated engineer Ludo Lacroix following his departure from Dick Johnson Racing.
Lacroix, a championship-winning engineer with DJR Team Penske and Triple Eight Race Engineering, starts at PremiAir Racing ahead of the new season.
The Frenchman departed DJR in a shake-up that also saw Dr Ryan Story return to the Team Principal role, with Ben Croke shifting to Team Manager.
His exact role with Peter Xiberras' team has yet to be revealed, with a team statement saying Lacroix has joined its "engineering department."
Lacroix reunites with PremiAir Racing's Team Manager Stephen Robertson, with the duo first meeting in 2002 in Germany while working for ABT SportsLine in DTM. There, Lacroix and Robertson helped Laurent Aiello win the 2002 championship.
He then shifted to Supercars as Roland Dane began Triple Eight in Australia, and remained with the team through a sparkling run of dominance before moving to DJR Team Penske.
There, he initially engineered Scott McLaughlin before Richard Harris took over the #17, with Lacroix also the team's competition director.
In recent years, Lacroix engineered Anton De Pasquale, with Harris engineering Will Davison. Perry Kapper will engineer De Pasquale in 2024, with Harris remaining with Davison.
"We are exceptionally pleased to have someone of Ludo’s calibre joining the PremiAir Racing team,” team owner Xiberras said.
"It is no secret that we are dedicated to having the best people on our team, and clearly Ludo is a heavyweight in his field.
"With Ludo and Stephen having worked together previously at Triple Eight, there is also an aspect of getting the band back together which I think will serve us well in 2024."
Lacroix will join PremiAir Racing for its first test day in early February ahead of the season-opening Thrifty Bathurst 500 on February 23-25.
