Paul Dumbrell returns as Whincup’s co-driver in 2015

Jamie Whincup and co-driver Paul Dumbrell
Paul Dumbrell will continue as Jamie Whincup’s Pirtek Enduro Cup co-driver in 2015. Photo: Red Bull Racing Australia

Red Bull Racing Australia has confirmed that Paul Dumbrell will return for a fourth consecutive season as Jamie Whincup’s Pirtek Enduro Cup co-driver in 2015.

The duo claimed this season’s Enduro Cup trophy with a second consecutive win in the Sandown 500 and victory in the second of this year’s Gold Coast 600 races, to add to their previous Bathurst 1000 win in 2012.

“I‘m absolutely thrilled to be joining Red Bull Racing Australia and Triple Eight again,“ said Dumbrell.

“We had a great endurance season this year by winning the PIRTEK Enduro Cup, which was a big goal for Jamie and me.

“We came up a little bit short at Bathurst, but overall we had a successful campaign and next year will hopefully be no different.

“We‘ll go into the races working hard and trying to maximise points to get Jamie a seventh championship.”

Alongside his co-driving duties, Dumbrell picked up his second Dunlop Series title and while the 32-year-old is still to decide on his plans for 2015, it’s believed that he will return to defend his Dunlop Series crown with Eggleston Motorsport to keep him race-fit for the Enduro Cup.

“We‘ll definitely race something outside of the enduros next year, but whether or not that‘s in the Dunlop Series or the Australian GT Series, we‘re not sure yet,” he said.

“We‘ll certainly get a few more laps because this year worked really well with getting some miles before the big endurance races, so hopefully we‘ll be able to announce that in the next month or so.”

For Red Bull Racing Australia team manager Mark Dutton keep the winning Enduro Cup combo together for another season was a no-brainer.

“It‘s clear that he and Jamie [Whincup] are one of, if not the strongest, pairing in the category, so it‘s great to be able to keep them together for another year.

“You know you‘ve got a good co-driver when you don‘t need to keep their stints to the bare minimum – we have the confidence to leave him in the car for longer because, not only does he keep the car clean, he is also very quick, quicker than a lot of the regular drivers.”

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