Not fun, but it's real: Inside Triple Eight's headache
Triple Eight has failed to podium in last six races
Penrite Racing claimed both points leads in that time
Broc Feeney still second, Will Brown seventh in points
Red Bull Ampol Racing Team Manager Mark Dutton says his team’s tough run is “not fun but it’s real.”
Triple Eight is on its worst run of form in 20 years, having failed to claim a podium finish in the last six races.
In that time, Ford rival squad Penrite Racing has claimed both championship leads and won twice, while Tickford Racing and Dick Johnson Racing have also reached victory lane.
Ford homologation team Triple Eight won on debut with its new Mustang back in February, with Broc Feeney adding wins in Melbourne and Tasmania. However, it has been slim pickings since.
Given the scale of Triple Eight’s move from Camaros to Mustangs, team legend Craig Lowndes admitted he wasn’t surprised by the squad’s slump. Mark Skaife, meanwhile, expects a bounce back.
At the surface, results have been lacking of late. However, Dutton confirmed that the team tackled Townsville with the intention of “doing a big learning event.”
A number of factors stunted the team’s progress, while some issues were also self-inflicted — see Will Brown’s call to sit out the final runs in Sunday qualifying, only to plummet to 19th.
Crucially, a late red flag in the sole practice session of the weekend denied several drivers a late qualifying simulation run. Relative to other teams, that ultimately hurt Triple Eight, and they failed to recover.
Dutton, though, admitted some pain had ben forecast, given the team’s decision to strategically test new set-ups and try new things with the car.
"A tough one in Townsville. We’re trying to keep it entertaining for everyone, but maybe not ourselves,” Dutton said.
"We knew it would be tough because we came with the intention of doing a big learning event.
"With the strength of all the teams you know you’ll be a little bit off the pace when you do that, but you never have the intention to come P15 or P18 in qualifying.”
The Gen3 Mustang has proven more sensitive for the team to handle versus the Camaro, which it used to great effect between 2023 and 2025.
While Triple Eight boss Jamie Whincup was initially critical of Walkinshaw TWG Racing’s call to test throughout the regular season to prepare for Finals, it seems Triple Eight will remain on that path. For now, Triple Eight is aware of the hole it has found itself in, but Dutton suggests there could be bigger swings to come.
"It’s not fun but it’s real,” Dutton continued.
"The reality is that you try things that don’t always make the car quicker. At least the new championship format allows you to have a bigger swing because you can have worse rounds.
"In the past you always had to be more conservative."
The 2026 Supercars season resumes in Perth on July 31-August 2.
