Team 18 has welcomed the services of respected Formula 1, Sportscar and Supercars engineer Tony Dowe to bolster the team’s management lineup.
Dowe joins the team as the Purchasing Manager, which will involve the upkeep of the team’s spare parts inventory whilst facilitating the team’s transition to the Gen3 Technical Regulations.
Dowe’s appointment allows the team to restructure their operations to enhance their capabilities as it enters a critical phase of this year’s championship whilst ensuring the team is positioned to succeed when the new regulations are implemented in 2023.
Team Owner Charlie Schwerkolt highlighted the appointment as another step forward for the team as it prepares for the new era of Supercars.
“We are pleased to have Tony agree to join Team 18, he possesses an outstanding wealth of successful racing experience and is a valuable addition to our racing operations,” said Schwerkolt.
“With new developments emerging daily for Gen3, it was critical for us to be on the front foot to prepare for the build of the new cars without compromising our focus on the final three rounds of this year’s championship, and appointments like this will contribute to that.
“To have someone of Tony’s experience in the team is invaluable and we have no doubt the entire team will be able to feed off his years of success in all forms of motorsport to drive the team forwards.”
Dowe, originally born in the UK, arrives at the team with an extraordinary wealth of experience and success in international motor racing.
Dowe is the former Managing Director of Tom Walkinshaw Racing’s United States arm which operated the successful Jaguar sportscar program in the late 1980s and early 1990s, winning both the Le Mans 24 Hour and Daytona 24 Hour races.
Dowe also brings a wealth of Formula 1 experience with Ensign, Brabham, Wolf, Ligier and Arrows, championship-winning Indycar seasons with Chaparral and Newman-Haas, and served as a representative on the FIA’s sportscar technical working group.
Dowe joined Kelly Racing as their Performance Director in 2011 and then joined Walkinshaw Racing in 2012 as Engineering and Development Manager.
“I’m happy to join Team 18, knowing many of the people in the team already,” said Dowe.
“It’s good to work with people that are wanting to achieve as opposed to just rocking up to work every day. There’s a fresh impetus to get things right which makes walking through the door every day a nice feeling.
“I was in my garage at home working on my go-kart and Dennis [Huijser, Team 18 Crew Chief] called me, I enjoyed working with him back in the Walkinshaw days and we have a very heads-up relationship, and we went from there. It’s enjoyable for someone to pick up the phone and ask you to come and help and be part of the growing structure of the team.
“Gen3 is a huge undertaking because it is a complete car with very little carry-over from anything else previously. It’s an opportunity to put in place some structure for how we manage inventory and control what we order and look after the dollars and cents, because cash flow is always the thing that we must keep an eye on.
“I’ve been there and bought the t-shirt in so many other areas. I’m excited to find a situation where everything runs smoothly, we have all the bits we want in the time frame we need it as opposed to scrambling around at the last minute. There’s 97 working days to the first of February next year and that’s going to be a killer for all teams up and down pit lane if you don’t stay on top of things.”
Team 18 continues its preparation for a test day at Winton Motor Raceway on September 28, before track action kicks off for the 2022 Repco Bathurst 1000 on Thursday, October 6.