Veteran engineer excited by 'super motivated' Stanaway
Supercars
06 Jan
Veteran engineer keen to link up with “super motivated” Richie Stanaway
Stanaway returns to full-time racing in 2024 with Penrite Racing
Bathurst winner replaces Team 18-bound David Reynolds
Veteran engineer Alistair McVean is keen to link up with a “super motivated” Richie Stanaway, who returns to the full-time fold in 2024.
Stanaway replaces Team 18-bound David Reynolds at Penrite Racing, with McVean — who has engineered Reynolds since 2016 — to engineer the Kiwi.
Penrite Racing welcomes Stanaway fresh off the back of the New Zealand’s Bathurst victory with Shane van Gisbergen.
The 2024 season will be Stanaway’s first full-time campaign since 2019. Back then, Stanaway battled with motivation and confidence, leading to his eventual retirement from racing after a torrid two seasons with Tickford Racing and Garry Rogers Motorsport.
Stanaway was signed on as van Gisbergen’s co-driver at Triple Eight after impressing in a wildcard in 2022, and they duly finished third at Sandown and won Bathurst.
McVean and Stanaway have hit the ground running, having met on a number of occasions post-Bathurst, along with a rookie day appearance in November. Stanaway later made his competitive debut with Grove Racing in a GT enduro race in Abu Dhabi.
“I’m excited for the future with Richie,” McVean, who won the 2017 Great Race with Reynolds and Erebus Motorsport, said on the latest Penrite Preview video.
"He’s super motivated, super fast, it’s going to be exciting to see what we can do together.”
Last October, McVean helped Reynolds to a first career win in five years on the Gold Coast streets, with driver and engineer helping the #26 Penrite Ford crew end the year with four straight podiums.
It was a stunning turnaround, with Reynolds — who eventually finished ninth overall — as low as 19th in the points mid-season.
For McVean, the late-season form was a bittersweet way to farewell Reynolds, who will partner Mark Winterbottom at Team 18 in 2024. Regardless, McVean and Penrite Racing welcome Stanaway to a team in form, with Matt Payne also claiming his first win at the season-ending VAILO Adelaide 500.
“Obviously young Dave is moving onto pastures anew, which is a bit sad,” McVean added.
"I’ve been working with him for almost seven years now, and we’ve had a lot of success along the journey.
“But it was really positive, and I was really happy to be able to sign off the year on a strong ways, four podiums in a row.
“It can’t get much better than that, and the win on the Gold Coast, it was fantastic to be able to sign off like that, he’s done a lot for this team."
Stanaway will test with Penrite Racing and teammate Payne in early February ahead of the Thrifty Bathurst 500 on February 23-25.
