“You’d see his name on the timing screen, but you’d never think twice of it,” he said. However, before his arrival to the team, Freele said he had no idea who Whincup was. In 2006 the relationship with Freele and Whincup began. It was that sequence of changes that Freele believes changed the dynamic of the team and quickly turned them into championship contenders in just three years. Ludo Lacroix soon joined the team from the UK division of Triple Eight having had success in the British Touring Car Championship and the DTM.Īfter Dane and Lacroix, three-time Supercars champion Craig Lowndes joined in 2005 and Jamie Whincup a year later in ‘06. “I’m like, ‘I’m sick of losing, you reckon we can win, okay, I’m staying then’.” We were racing tractors and he said ‘I’m going to bring some people and we’re going to make this thing work.’ “Back in the Briggs days, we were struggling. “Just the power he walked into the room with you’re like, ‘Oh, we’re onto something here. Mate, I’ve never had 20 blokes just shut up so quickly. He was introduced this is Roland, your new owner. “You never even knew this bloke, but he had power over the room. His first impressions of Dane are still fresh in his mind. We crashed a lot.”įreele hadn’t been working at the team long before it was taken over midway through 2003 by Roland Dane, an unknown name to most at the time. He recalled, “It turned out to be the Devil car. Freele was Canto’s no.2 mechanic in a year that saw them score just one top 10 finish. His first season with Briggs wasn’t one to savour. That year Briggs Motor Sport had two Betta Electrical-backed cars with New Zealander Paul Radisich racing BMS005 and young Australian Dean Canto racing BMS006. It wasn’t long before Freele was building his first V8 Supercar, taking parts out of the old AU Falcons before building the iconic bright yellow BA Falcons for the 2003 season. Radisich leads Canto in the Briggs Motor Sport Ford BA Falcons I drove up on a Friday and basically went to work on Monday, and 18 years later haven’t stopped.” I thought ‘I’ve done a big bloody circle here’,” he laughed. “I never knew there was a Springwood in Queensland. Got about 10 hours up the road and found I was at Springwood again. “I drove all the way up in my Toyota Hilux with my dirt bike and my clothes. “I did and literally two weeks later I was out of there, straight up to Queensland. I’ll put a good word in for you’,” said Freele. “I had just finished my time as a mechanic at Winmalee Car Care and he said, ‘well why don’t you send your resume through. He was coming to the end of his three-year mechanics’ apprenticeship when a friend, who was working with V8 Supercar team Briggs Motor Sport, spotted an opening. It wasn’t long before the team entered a wildcard for the Bathurst 1000 later that year and at just 18 years old Freele was working on a V8 Supercar.
V8 supercars racing room introduced series#
Not long into that, he was approached by schoolmate Colin Sieders, working after hours on their Super Truck and other projects.Īs the story goes, Sieders bought a pair of EL and EB Ford Falcons for the then known second-tier Konica V8 Lites Series in 2000. Straight out of college at Year 10, Freele began an apprenticeship as a mechanic at Winmalee Car Care. It’s a journey that began in a Blue Mountain town called Springwood where Freele was born, raised, and went to school. There is undoubtedly no other Supercars mechanic in the pit lane as successful as Ty Freele of Triple Eight Race Engineering.įreele has been Jamie Whincup’s right-hand man since day one, along for the ride in all 119 of his Supercars race wins.
Ty Freele is the most decorated Supercars no.1 mechanic in the pit lane
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