Triple Eight’s Dane dynasty comes to an end

By Timothy Neal

Date posted: 12 July 2024

With Jess Dane’s sale of her 30 percent stake at Triple Eight Race Engineering to Earl Evans and Steve Blackmore, T8 has entered a new four-way ownership split.

For the first time in the team’s history, the Brisbane based squad will no longer have a Dane in an ownership position, with the vacated 30% share being split by the former Erebus backers.

Evans, the CEO of Shaw and Partners, and Blackmore, the CEO of Southern Truck Rentals, have taken over from Dane with immediate effect, again reuniting with Will Brown after recently backing him for his NASCAR Cup Series debut in Sonoma.

They Join majority shareholder, motorsport magnate Tony Quinn (40%) and current managing director Jamie Whincup (30%) in a four-way split.

Roland Dane, the team’s original founder in 2003, will continue as the team’s non-executive chairman.

Jess became a shareholder at T8 in 2015, with Whincup arriving as such in 2018 with a 15% share as the team’s champion driver.

Dane now lives in the US with former T8 driver Shane Van Gisbergen, as she chases her own aspirations in the States.

Whincup says that Dane’s contribution to the team shouldn’t be overlooked amongst the news of the sale.

“Firstly, we can’t ignore Jess’ enormous contribution to the team over her incredible tenure,” Whincup said.

“She has been an invaluable member of the Triple Eight family since day dot, working in all facets of the business.

“We understand Jess’ commitment to her career aspirations in the US, and we know she will always remain connected to the foundations her father RD built.

“In saying that, we are thrilled to welcome Earl and Steve to our shareholder group. Their wealth of business experience will enhance our team and support our continued evolution, strengthening our current programs and engaging new opportunities.”

For Dane herself, she states that although it was a tough choice to move on, she didn’t want to remain in the position if she couldn’t give it her all.

“This has certainly been one of the most difficult decisions of my life,” She stated.

“I’m incredibly proud of what Triple Eight has achieved over the years and honoured to have been able to play a small part along the way. However, I know it’s the right decision. While I’ve lived in the US, I’ve hated that I can only give a fraction of my time, energy and capacity to a team that means so very much to me.

“Some of my earliest memories are at British race tracks in the mid-90s watching the Triple Eight Race Engineering Vauxhall Vectras cutting laps in the British Touring Car Championship. The team has literally been in my family since those days! Additionally, I need to be able to give my all to settling into life in the US and every obligation I have in Australia detracts from that, which I don’t feel is fair for Triple Eight.

“I am delighted that two such passionate people in Earl and Steve are joining Triple Eight. While their business experience is undoubtedly an asset for the board of directors, I felt very strongly that the team deserves people who care about the success and longevity of motorsport as a whole.

“I am very grateful to them for this opportunity to hand 30% of Triple Eight over to people who I know in my gut want the best for the sport, as well as every single member of the team, present and past, who has contributed to some of my very best life memories.”

Incoming shareholder, Shaw and Partners CEO Earl Evans, says that T8 offers the perfect opportunity to enter into Supercars as an equity holder in a team.

“I was looking for an equity stake in a Supercars team and a business of large scale and size that excelled outside of Supercars, in this case Triple Eight’s engineering and manufacturing entity,” he explained.

Obviously, the team’s success was an added attraction, and there’s certainly a challenge ahead to maintain that success, but at the end of the day it was a perfect fit for me.

“I’ve followed Supercars since I was very young. I’ve watched every Bathurst and every Sandown since I was five years old and have now followed the series for over five decades, so I know the sport very well. I had a taste of Supercars as a sponsor over the past couple of years, and the next logical step was to take an equity position and to take on ownership, that’s why I was looking around in the sport for an opportunity and that’s when this presented itself.

“Our job will be to sit on the board, and my role will be to support the current structure that’s been wildly successful in whatever way I can, whether that be in the commercial space, my business experience or other ways. Essentially, I will be there to support Jamie (Whincup, Managing Director) and the team to continue with its success – that’s my vison. I’ve been in business for 35-years and have a lot of contacts, so hopefully I can break open my rolodex to help the team whoever might be needed.

Likewise for Southern Truck Rentals CEO Steve Blackmore, he says that joining T8 is a more than perfect way to start life out as Supercars team shareholder.

“Having owned multiple companies over the past 20 years, the prospect of buying into an established and successful business in Triple Eight Race Engineering was really exciting.

“Having had a passion for motorsport that goes back to my childhood, in recent years I had been involved as a personal sponsor of athletes in the sport and teams through my numerous businesses, which fuelled my desire to purchase an equity stake in a team.

“I had been looking for an opportunity to transition from sponsor to investor in the sport and the opportunity at Triple Eight was both a perfect opportunity and fit. Triple Eight is without peer in the sport in my opinion and it has a proven track record of delivering results that are consistently the best in motorsports in Australia.

“The opportunity to invest is achievable as the company is self-sufficient with its existing structure, processes and systems and I’ll be able to enjoy participating as a part owner whilst the business not being dependent on me to operate.”

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Triple Eight’s Dane dynasty comes to an end

Jess became a shareholder at T8 in 2015, with Whincup arriving as such in 2018 with a 15% share as the team’s champion driver.

For Dane herself, she states that although it was a tough choice to move on, she didn’t want to remain in the position if she couldn’t give it her all.

Incoming shareholder, Shaw and Partners CEO Earl Evans, says that T8 offers the perfect opportunity to enter into Supercars as an equity holder in a team.

Likewise for Southern Truck Rentals CEO Steve Blackmore, he says that joining T8 is a more than perfect way to start life out as Supercars team shareholder.

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