V8 SHOCK: TRIPLE EIGHT NOT PROFITABLE

Triple Eight not profitable – Photo: LAT

Triple Eight supremo Roland Dane has revealed that his factory-backed Holden squad is only breaking even as he asserts most other Supercars teams lose money.

By MARK FOGARTY

Dane reveals the financial plight of teams in a no-holds-barred interview in the latest AUTO ACTION, out now.

He admits that despite big Red Bull and Holden support, the team that dominated V8 racing for a decade until last year is now just covering its operating costs.

Dane claimed that Red Bull Holden Racing Team’s multi-million dollar annual backing had fallen in the changing sports sponsorship market over the past seven years.

“I don’t really make any secret of it, the fact is that our income as the team – and bearing in mind we are a business – our income on a two-car pro-rata basis is not as much as it was in 2012 and, of course, our costs have gone up,” he explained.

Dane added that the shortfall and increased running costs since the change to New Generation cars in 2013 had adversely impacted Triple Eight’s bottom line.

“I can tell you that last year and this year are break-even years for us,” he admitted. “But, yeah, we’ve made money over the years and, of course, need to.

“I’m neither willing nor able to subsidise the team for any length of time, so the team has to be able to stand up on its own two feet.

“The viability of the pit lane does concern me very much and it always has done.”

Dane suggests that the only team without financial worry is DJR Team Penske, which operates on a different business-to-business funding model.

RBHRT has been overtaken by Shell V-Power Racing, which is dominating with the Ford Mustang.

In the candid interview, Dane asserts that all the other teams are struggling to make ends meet and outlines his vision for long-term sustainability.

Triple Eight’s HRT deal and Red Bull backing are both in the final year of the current agreements.

While he refuses to comment on negotiations with Holden, Dane admits that he is in “active discussions” with Red Bull, which has been Triple Eight’s primary sponsor since 2013.

In a two-part interview, Dane goes head-to-head on his once-dominant team’s struggles, the future of Supercars and why he thinks the Supercars Ford Mustang is an abomination.

It’s the verbal stoush of the season – and it’s only in AUTO ACTION, out now.

The epic ‘Up Front With Foges’ encounter continues even more explosively next issue, on sale July 11.

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