Triple Eight co-owner questions Dane's PremiAir move
Tony Quinn questions Roland Dane's PremiAir Racing move
Dane will become PremiAir Racing’s Team Principal next year
Dane led Triple Eight to unprecedented run of success
Tony Quinn has questioned his former Triple Eight co-owner Roland Dane’s move to PremiAir Racing.
Dane will become PremiAir Racing’s Team Principal, effective January 1, 2026.
The Irishman was pivotal to Triple Eight Race Engineering’s rise to power in Supercars, leading the team to an unprecedented run of success.
Dane handed the reins of the team to the retired Jamie Whincup at the end of 2021, and resigned from Triple Eight's board last December amid "semi-retirement."
Triple Eight has since confirmed its return to Ford, with Dane reemerging in the Peter Xiberras-owned PremiAir camp as an advisor.
Announced in the days after Bathurst, where PremiAir nearly pulled off a stunning victory, Dane will step into the Team Principal role full-time.
Speaking on the Rusty's Garage podcast, Quinn — who bought into Triple Eight in 2021 — claimed he had yet to see Dane’s impact on the team to date.
"I think it's a shitty move to be honest," Quinn said.
"It's not a thing that I would do. I think once you give people your word, that's your reputation, that's very important.
“It’s yet to be seen how much of an influence he’s going to have.”
In contrast to Quinn's comments, Whincup recently said Dane will "no doubt improve" PremiAir's performance.
It has been a moving year for PremiAir Racing, which will start 2026 with an all-new driver line-up of rookie Jayden Ojeda and Super2 champion Declan Fraser.
Ojeda and Fraser take over from Blanchard Racing Team-bound James Golding and Richie Stanaway, who is set to return to co-driving next season.
Quinn suggested Dane will have more building to undertake at PremiAir, which is still hunting its first Supercars win.
"Pete Xiberras is his own man, he doesn't need to be told anything by anybody else. So there's going to be some interesting discussions in PremiAir's garage,” Quinn continued.
"If I was a betting man, I'd say maybe it won't go past March. I know how they both are and they are both strong individuals with strong opinions.
"And although Roland has got the background and the history, he had a great team behind him. This is why Triple Eight is so strong, is because the team that is there.
“[Triple Eight is] made up of 10 individuals maybe and then the rest of the team that are developing around them. It's so strong and difficult to beat."
Triple Eight has drivers Broc Feeney and Will Brown signed up until 2029, with both drivers reaching the Semi Final following last weekend's first Repco Supercars Finals Series round on the Gold Coast.
