Roland Dane not hiding behind enormity of PremiAir mission
Roland Dane not hiding behind enormity of PremiAir Racing mission
Former Triple Eight boss commences role as PremiAir Team Principal
Team remains winless in four seasons across six drivers since 2022 debut
The Roland Dane era is in full swing at PremiAir Racing, and the man himself isn't getting ahead of himself ahead of the team's most important year yet.
Former Triple Eight supremo Dane has been signed by the Peter Xiberras-owned squad as its new Team Principal, with the Irishman tasked with leading Supercars' youngest team.
News of Dane's signing caught many off-guard in the paddock, even prompting Triple Eight co-owner Tony Quinn to question the deal, labelling it a "shitty move."
Jamie Whincup, Triple Eight's championship-winning driver under Dane, also quipped that his former boss will "take a heap of knowledge there and no doubt improve their performance."
All the while, Dane quietly watched on in the background at select rounds throughout 2025, gaining an understanding of what the Chevrolet squad requires at it shoots for its first Supercars win.
“If it's not good at this time of year, it generally doesn't get any better. It's getting my attention as it should be, and I'm enjoying it,” Dane said in a wide-ranging interview with Supercars.com.
“I did two events at the end of last year in the background, just to have a look and see what was working well, and what things were working better than others.
“I’m pretty happy with my understanding on what was good and what we need to concentrate on. It was a definite benefit to go there. But, the proof of the pudding's in the eating.
"Going racing’s going racing. Over the last four years, yes, there have been some changes, but nothing earth-shattering. The general principles are still there with the new car, good, bad or indifferent.
"So, when we hit the ground in Sydney, then we'll see if the real benefit or otherwise of being able to have a look at the end of last season.”
PremiAir Racing has undergone its fair share of change over the years since its 2022 debut, with the likes of team bosses Matt Cook, Stephen Robertson and Gwyn Dolphin all coming and going. Engineering guru Ludo Lacroix departed at the end of last season, with Declan Fraser and Jayden Ojeda forming an all-new driver line-up.
The team's brightest moments came at the hands of James Golding, who claimed the team's first pole at Hidden Valley in 2024. He followed it up with the team's maiden podium at Sandown, before infamously crossing the line first at last year's epic Repco Bathurst 1000. However, Golding too has left, signing for Blanchard Racing Team.
Where he was team boss and part-owner during his time at Triple Eight, Dane has a clear remit at PremiAir Racing, giving him runway to deliver on what Xiberras wants: results.
“Firstly, I've got to respect the amount of time, effort, and money Peter's put in and continues to put into the team. He hasn't got the payback from it so far that he deserves,” Dane said.
"I'm trying to behave with him the way that I would hope that somebody would behave with me, if the roles were reversed. So far we've got a very good relationship.
"I've known him for quite a few years as a customer of Triple Eight. He was a very straightforward person to deal with, and that remains the case today.
"The best use of his time is concentrating on PremiAir as a business, which allows myself and Pete Vale [Team Manager] to get on with running the race team.
“If we do it properly, then I'm sure everyone will be happy and smiling at the end of the day. If we don't, then we deserve to be put on our bikes.”
The might of Dane offers hope for stability, something PremiAir has somewhat lacked throughout the years. Dane built an empire at Triple Eight centred on maintaining a core group of people, from mechanics right down to commercial operations.
One thing that has changed is the car itself, with the Gen3 Supercar a tougher widget to extract speed from. So much so, that despite running Triple Eight set-ups, PremiAir has fallen short of reaching victory lane.
For Dane, it's not that simple. Rather, the key is building a team of people, versus putting faith into key individuals and hoping something sticks.
“The thing that hasn't changed is that this business is a people business. Trying to have good people around you and motivate them is essential,” Dane said.
"But, from a car point of view, 23 years ago, there was the opportunity to build a better mousetrap. Today, there isn’t.
"I think the fundamental change is that there was an awful lot of low hanging fruit back in the day, where we could see that there was an awful lot of opportunity to try and improve the car itself.
“Now, it’s a whole series of tiny, tiny details that you've got to try and get right. So the people side is still as important as ever, if not more."
