Triple Eight Race Engineering and Supercheap Auto have officially launched their fourth consecutive Supercars Championship wildcard entry in front of a roaring crowd of fans at Grazeland in Melbourne. In addition, the team also announced their continuation of the amazingly successful program until the end of 2025, spearheaded by Supercars legend, Craig Lowndes.
The team’s Supercheap Auto Racing Chevrolet Camaro LTZ, featuring the synonymous #888 and donning the major backer’s iconic red and yellow corporate colours, kicked off a ‘celebration of motorsport’ at the iconic Melbourne venue. Wildcard drivers Cooper Murray and Lowndes were on hand to pull back the covers of the striking test day livery, revealing this year’s colour scheme for the first time.
Supercheap Auto’s ‘Make It Super’ tagline features prominently across the team’s wildcard entry livery and is supported by Supercheap Auto’s trade partners: ACDelco, Century Batteries, Bendix, Bosch, Sony, Sperling, TurtleWax and ToolPRO.
In conjunction to the #888 wildcard racing at the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000, the team announced that Murray will be making his main game debut in the Supercars Championship with a standalone wildcard entry at the upcoming Darwin Triple Crown. Triple Eight Managing Director, Jamie Whincup will take on Team Principal duties for the wildcard entry in Darwin, as he did in 2023.
The team’s wildcard entry will see former Triple Eight race-winning engineer, Wes McDougal continue as race engineer for the #888 Chevrolet Camaro. McDougal was race engineer to seven-time Supercars Champion, Jamie Whincup in his final full-time season of Supercars in 2021 before joining Supercheap Auto Racing in 2023.
Since the commencement of Triple Eight’s Supercheap Auto-backed wildcard program in 2021, the team has seen talented young drivers in Broc Feeney, Declan Fraser and Zane Goddard make their case for full-time seats in the Supercars Championship. Supercheap Auto Racing’s 2022 Bathurst 1000 campaign delivered an eighth-place finish, the highest place wildcard finish in the history of the Great Race. The team’s 2023 campaign achieving a best placed result of tenth at the Sandown 500.
The Supercheap Auto Racing wildcard will make its on-track debut on May 28 at the team’s first official test day of 2024 at Queensland Raceway. The team will also launch an Indigenous-themed livery prior to the Darwin Triple Crown on 14-16 June, as well as an enduro season livery prior to the Sandown 500 on 20-22 September.
Quotes:
Cooper Murray
“I love the look of my first supercar – I think it looks amazing. It’s a bit different from what they’ve done in previous years, but this year’s design looks really fast.
“It’s pretty special to launch the wildcard here in my hometown of Melbourne where I’ve grown up my whole life. To have all my family and friends there to help launch it with me and support this amazing opportunity is very special and it’s a cool way to kick off the year.
“I’m so excited at the thought of getting in the car at our first test day. I’ve been looking forward to that moment since we announced I’d be in the driver’s seat, but I’m keeping my cool at the moment, watching a lot of racing and on-board vision, as well as going to the events with Triple Eight to learn as much as I can.
“To make my Supercars solo main game debut in Darwin is something that I’ve been working towards for quite a while now, and it’s going to be a special weekend. My little brother Jett is actually racing in the Toyota 86’s at Phillip Island that weekend which is very unfortunate timing, so my family are going to have to split duties at both events!”
Craig Lowndes
“Supercheap Auto have again put on a great show and have really outdone themselves with bringing the fans closer to the sport at this amazing launch at Grazeland. The crowds and the atmosphere here have really ignited my excitement to kick off our 2024 campaign.
“Teaming up with Cooper, I’m excited to make this year’s entry bigger and more super. I’m keen to get to our first test day at Queensland Raceway in May so we can start getting comfortable in the car and familiarising ourselves with our team of engineers and mechanics before a gruelling enduro campaign kicks off at Sandown.
“It’s fantastic that Cooper will be racing in Darwin, and I congratulate everyone for making this possible again in 2024. Any laps in these cars are invaluable, and hopefully he gets more comfortable with the car and the team before I jump in later in the year.
“I’m also thrilled to announce that I have signed on to continue with the program for the 2025 enduro season. Since we started, it has gone from strength to strength and I’m looking forward to continuing that. Taking the ‘Mentor’ role and teaming up with up-and-coming talent in our sport is something that I really enjoy. I want to thank both Triple Eight and Supercheap Auto for their support.”
Jamie Whincup
“Hats off to the amazing team at Supercheap Auto for hosting another cracking event here at Grazeland. They’ve set a seriously high benchmark with these events and put in a huge amount of work to support and entertain the Supercars fanbase.
“I still can’t believe we’re entering our fourth year of this incredibly successful wildcard program, and I’m delighted to see it entering its fifth year with the signing of Lowndesy (Craig Lowndes) for next year as well. Supercheap Auto has been such a superb partner of ours since 2021, and I’m honored that they continue to show confidence in our team to represent their iconic brand.
“I’m really excited to see Cooper step up from Super2 to co-pilot with Craig. I’m a huge believer in an experienced driver partnering with an up-and-coming talent to tackle two of the biggest events on the Supercars calendar, and this pairing has just as many opportunities and resources to win as our Red Bull Ampol Racing cars.
“I’m thrilled that Cooper will also get a standalone event in Darwin for him to get comfortable in these cars, and it’s a great opportunity for our engineers and mechanics to gel as a team before an intense enduro season later in the year.”
Benjamin Ward
“The 2024 Supercheap Auto Chevrolet Camaro looks fast and we’re super excited to reveal the test day livery in front of thousands of fans tonight at Grazeland in Melbourne.
“The three-event program, beginning with Darwin and Sandown, is ideal preparation for (Craig Lowndes) Lowndesy and (Cooper) Murray before we head to Bathurst in October.
“We’re also very proud to extend our wildcard team partnership with Triple Eight and Craig Lowndes into 2025, which will mark five years of the successful program.”
