Tony Quinn becomes major shareholder in Triple Eight

Tony Quinn has purchased a 40 per cent share of Triple Eight Engineering ahead of the 2021 Repco Supercars season.

Quinn, the current owner of both Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell and Hampton Downs in north Waikato, will become the team’s major shareholder.

Triple Eight’s team principal and managing director Roland Dane will step down from his role at the end of the 2021 season, with his share in the team reduced to 11 per cent.

Read More: Roland Dane to step down as Triple Eight team principal

Seven-time series champion Jamie Whincup will retire from full-time driver duties at the end of the year. The 37-year-old will take over from Dane’s duties from 2022 onwards.

Read More: Whincup announces full-time driving retirement

Whincup now has his share in the company increase from 15 per cent to 19 per cent. Dane’s daughter Jessica, who became a shareholder in 2015, now owns a 30 per cent stake in the team.

Paul Dumbrell and Tim Miles, who both owned a previous share in the team have both sold their complete stake to Quinn.

Quinn has been a lifelong fan of motorsport. Hailing from Scotland, Quinn is a multiple winner of the New Zealand Targa Rally.

A self-made millionaire through his V.I.P Petfood brand, Quinn then went on to be involved in category management, owning the Porshce Carrera Cup, the Australian GT series, and the Aussie Racing Cars.

The partnership between Quinn and Triple Eight will remain mainly as an advisor role. He will not be sponsoring any of the team’s cars and have any of his other companies involved with the team.

Quinn said he had been studying the Supercars landscape for some time. The introduction of the Gen3 regulations late last year further fuelled his interest to buy into the series.

“Since 2000, I have been on the sidelines of the Supercars Championship as a driver, team and category sponsor.

“I have seen the category go through some fantastic times and also some very testing times.

“Throughout, one team has consistently been where any passionate race team needs to be – winning. So, Triple Eight was quite an easy choice.

“I think Gen3 can’t come soon enough and Triple Eight has been instrumental in making this happen.

“The evolution should deliver healthy benefits to all stakeholders of the sport, including the fans, so it is an incredibly exciting time to be increasing my involvement in Supercars.”

Dane added: “Tony is an excellent fit for Triple Eight – he shares our passion for racing and innovation.

“We are flattered that someone of Tony’s pedigree was interested in buying into our business and his approach has helped us cement our business succession.”

The first round of the 2021 Supercars Championship will be the Mount Panorama 500 on February 27-28.