DJR hopeful of quick Triple Eight/Ford transition

Dick Johnson Racing CEO David Noble is hopeful of a quick handover with Triple Eight amid the latter’s shift to Ford in 2026.

Triple Eight will move from General Motors to Ford in 2026, and was nominated to become Ford’s homologation team, subject to ratification by a majority vote of Ford's Supercars teams.

Speaking in Perth, Triple Eight boss Jamie Whincup told media that the Ford homologation team transfer with DJR is “in progress,” despite admitting to “complications.”

It comes as Triple Eight and Team 18 near completion of the GM homologation team handover negotiations.

Triple Eight’s shift to Ford is likely to include the Ford engine supply deal, which DJR is currently running the program through its Motorsport Powertrains arm.

When asked in Darwin by Supercars.com over the handover, Noble said: “When we’ve got more information, we’ll let everyone know.

“But at this stage, we’re just continuing to work through what we need to as an organisation. We’re hopeful we can get that transition quickly.

“But there’s lots of things still going on behind the scenes.”

Noble shifted focus to the current campaign, with Brodie Kostecki and Will Davison seventh and 14th respectively.

The Shell V-Power Racing Team is chasing its first win since July 2023, with Kostecki 132 points above the Finals cut-line. Davison is 85 points behind 10th, with five rounds left before Finals.

Noble, who called out DJR's qualifying results after Perth, insisted DJR’s best chance to make a splash in the Finals is to have both cars in contention, saying: “The chance for us to go racing with Finals this year is all about having two in there.

“There’s a longer game that we sit behind the scenes and look at, then there’s a per-round weekend which the engineers and drivers have got to look at.

“We want them out there getting the car quali'd, getting the car up the front, getting all the podiums. We haven’t been too good at getting our quali in the right mould.

“But ultimately, it’s a longer-term plan to get two in the Finals, and then let’s see what happens from there.

"Bit of work to do with Will’s car, brand new car we had last round. That always doesn’t guarantee you better performance, there’s lots of learnings that came away from that."