David Cauchi commences engineering post with Triple Eight
Cauchi engineered Will Brown/Scott Pye Mustang at enduro test
Andrew Edwards stepped in for Marty Short, whose partner is expecting
David Cauchi’s presence is already being felt at Triple Eight, with the veteran engineer returning to the headphones at Tuesday’s pre-enduro test.
Nine months after his last Supercars commitments concluded with Penrite Racing, Cauchi returned to lead the Will Brown/Scott Pye Ford at Queensland Raceway.
The deal has Cauchi performing part-time duties with Triple Eight, with the ex-Penrite Racing Team Principal retaining his day job with DMH Group.
The Cauchi of old was back on Tuesday, keeping a keen eye on the computer screens in the Red Bull Ampol garages, while also watching on from the pit wall as the #888 Mustang flew around the track.
Cauchi — who engineered Jamie Whincup to the 2017 drivers’ championship — also reunites with his old mate, who is now Team Principal and Managing Director. Whincup, speaking to Supercars.com at Queensland Raceway, liked what he saw.
“It’s like he hasn't had a day off, just straight back into it. Like riding a bike, I suppose,” Whincup said.
“There are a few operational things to get used to, which have changed quite a lot since he was here last.
“Really he's just engineering the car like it's 2017 again. It’s pretty impressive.”
Whincup isn’t keen to keep a leash on Cauchi. Rather, Whincup's plan for Cauchi is to bring more fresh ideas, given the team is still learning its Ford Mustang package, as Andrew Edwards steps up to the Head of Performance role.
“I think it's important that Cauchi does his thing,” Whincup said.
“I love diversification, so I don't want someone just to do the same as everybody else. I want them to be able to ask you a few more questions to see if we can find some gains.
“We’ve got an extra set of eyes and ears, and another brain to work with the rest of the crew.
“It’s a tricky one to answer because we've got an unbelievable crew. They’re so capable. But you can always benefit from more and more resource.
“But Cauchi’s a bloody superstar within himself. He holds himself as a an operator in this pit lane, so he'll join the other superstars, and hopefully between them all they can come up with a good recipe."
Cauchi started at the best possible time — Broc Feeney’s engineer Marty Short was unable to make it to the track, with partner Bree expecting any day now.
“Thank god though he's because Marty's not here,” Whincup laughed.
“Marty's having a baby either today or tomorrow, so we would've been an engineer short.”
It meant Edwards stepped straight back into the engineering role, albeit on the Feeney/Nick Precut car.
“Andrew's now the man. He's the one that's really gonna be prepping the cars and making sure we roll out of the truck really fast. He'll be overseeing both engineers,” Whincup continued.
“It’s always a good feeling for any organisation to promote from within, so we're really happy to have been able to do that Andrew. He was my Plan A, so I'm glad he was as keen as I am to execute Plan A.”
The season hits enduro mode at the Ryco Enduro Cup opener, the AirTouch 500 at The Bend, on September 11-13. Tickets are on sale now.
