Sep 13, 2021
Team Triton V8 SuperUtes race car driver – Craig Dontas shared his professional and personal story!
My Biography:
- Date of birth: 22/12/1979
- Place of birth:
- Lives: Adelaide, South Australia
- Status: Married
- Outside of racing: Sport, family, and fitness
- Engineer: Luke Sieders
About Me:
After competing in superkarts and production cars in the late 1990s and early 2000s, I become a V8 Utes Series mainstay, scoring numerous races wins and podium finishes across 12 years.
In between I had appearances in Touring cars, Aussie Racing Cars, TransAm and the Stadium Trucks.
I am known as not only a handy steerer, but also one of the most commercially savvy operators out of the race car. I was head of commercial at the Clipsal Adelaide 500 and now head up Sponsorship at Supercars Australia.
Now as a part of the SuperUtes fraternity, I work hard behind the scenes, generating commercial support for the series and am there to help guide the series to future success and popularity.
With off-track work keeping me busy on most race weekends, I still can’t resist the opportunity to slot behind the wheel when there’s time. I have won race and scored a few pole positions in the diesel format of the SuperUtes, but the shift to the V8 Powered SuperUtes has got me very excited.
Inspirations & Passion – Q&A
- What inspired you to start driving?
As a child we my father was close friends with Peter Brock and a number of well-known drivers, I spent most weekend and holidays at the racetrack, so it was only natural that I wanted to race too.
- What does it mean to you to be a part of the Team Triton V8 SuperUtes racing team?
I am quite proud to be honest, it’s something we built from ground up. Whether I am driving or overseeing the next generation of drivers, it’s so great to have the support of RYCO 24.7 whilst doing what we love.
- After escaping a frightening moment at Mount Panorama, did it change you as a race car driver?
Not really, over the journey I have had a few big ones, it’s part of what we do. If anything, it makes you more determined to challenge yourself to go better.
- In your opinion, which qualities should a race car driver possess?
The ability to have fun, at time this is a high-pressure industry, the drivers who still manage to keep the fun in it tend to go well.
- How did victory in 2018 ECB SuperUtes Series Townsville motivate you?
Reward was the biggest motivator, it was a tough journey up until then, so it was a great relief and reward to get that result.
To check out Supercars latest calendar click here.
To follow Craig Dontas’ driving journey visit:
Join the RYCO 24•7 Team today, visit Business Opportunities for more details.
Sep 13, 2021
Eseries race car driver – Madison Down shared his professional and personal story!
Madison provided us with captivating insights on his passion for car racing, iRacing as a training tool to practice, key differences between reality vs virtual racing and much more. Are you ready to race on in and read about Madison’s racing journey?
My Biography:
- Date of birth: 22/08/1994
- Place of birth: Camden, New South Wales
- Lives: Camden South, New South Wales
- Outside of racing: Mountain Biking, Listening to Music, Socialising
- Personal vehicle: Holden Commodore VF Series II SSV Redline
- Engineer: Tony Woodward (BJR), Brock Salmon (Trans-Tasman Racing)
About Me:
Day-to-day you’ll find me at Supercheap Auto as a Store Manager. My role as a Store Manager is to lead our store team to exceptional results and provide industry leading customer service to our customers.
In addition to my day job, I also provide coaching and data to the sim racing community through Virtual Racing School. Customers can analyse, compare, and download data to ensure they can make the most of their hobby and learn from the best drivers through Virtual Racing School.
Outside of work, you can find me investing lots of time into racing, both in reality and through simulation. I have raced in the Aussie Racing Cars Super Series at the 2013 Sydney 500 which was an opportunity of a lifetime, my goal is to find the funds to get back into a racing series again. To maintain my skills, I use iRacing as a training tool as well as a hobby. I race in the iRacing V8 Supercars Series and have a record ten Championship Titles to my name as well two V8SCOPS series title. In recent years, I have competed in all three Supercars Pro Eseries’ finishing 4th in 2019 and 3rd in 2020. In 2021, I am representing RYCO 24•7 Racing in Car 14.
Inspirations & Passion – Q&A
- How would your friends and family describe you?
A laid back and easy to get along with individual that talks too much! I enjoy racing and often get carried away in conversation. Despite being quite an introvert naturally, when comfortable around friends and family I love being social out and about. I think the one thing that every person I have ever met would say is that I love racing and should talk a whole lot less about it!
- What are your strengths as an Eseries Race Car driver?
Consistency. So much of my success over the last decade has been as a result of being consistently at the pointy end of the field. Be there to capitalise on every opportunity and maximise every result.
- What are some challenges you face as a Race Car driver?
Pressure. The pressure to perform at the highest level in any racing in which you compete whether it be Real or Virtual is a huge challenge. You don’t get many second chances in racing so capitalising on every opportunity you get is crucial. The nerves in those pressure situations like nailing a lap in qualifying, sitting on the grid waiting for the start or fending a driver attacking from behind is tough.
Racing is also different to other sports in that there’s only one winner and a whole grid of losers. So, there’s a lot more lows than highs but it makes the highs oh so sweet when they do come! That moment of winning in racing is hard to describe to those in other sports.
- What inspired you to start driving?
My family has always had an interest in Motorsport but has never actively competed. At the age of 2 back in 1996 my dad had a computer with some games on it. Originally, the aim as I got older was to be faster than my old man but by the age of about 5 or 6 that had been achieved.
At 7 years old, I got a Go Kart for my birthday and was fortunately able to translate that love for racing from sim to the real tracks. We never raced competitively but spent many years at racetracks recreationally as a family having fun. That has never really changed over the years, now we’re just playing with a Shelby Cobra Replica at Track Days instead of a Go Kart!
From those early years as a kid, I could’ve never dreamt of the opportunities that sim racing would bring me 15 years later not only on the sim but also in real race cars such as Aussie Racing Cars and Supercars.
- What are the key differences between reality vs virtual Racing?
They have their differences but in the end the end goal is the same. The objective is to get a car around a track faster than anyone else. I find that there are a lot of similarities between the two, techniques to get the most out of a car are all quite close. I believe the biggest difference is the lack of practice and testing that you get in reality. For simulator drivers, there are no testing restrictions and costs involved in practicing, so that part of it is endless so it becomes about how you manage your time to perform the best. In reality, practice and testing are so limited due to regulations and costs that when you get to the track every single minute is precious.
To follow Madison’s driving journey visit:
Join the RYCO 24•7 Team today, visit Business Opportunities for more details.
Sep 13, 2021
RYCO 24•7 are excited to collaborate with Team Triton SuperUtes and Brad Jones Racing. We are the naming sponsor on car #14 driven by Madison Down in the 2021 Pro Eseries.
The six-round Eseries kicks off this Wednesday the 25th of August, running weekly through to the 29th of September. Things are a little different this year, with drivers fighting for two Championships – the All Stars, for Supercar and Dunlop Super2 Drivers and the Pro Series for elite gamers.
The striking red and white RYCO 24•7 racing livery will be a standout as Downs gets set to take to the track for some virtual battles. BJR also welcomes to the #14 – Pioneer DJ, Shure, Sia Australia, Verto and Trade Risk.
In 1989, RYCO set out to enhance its distribution base and launched its mobile service division, RYCO 24•7 Pty Ltd. Since its inception, RYCO 24•7 has increased its market coverage by establishing Service Centres, Mobile Connector Specialists and Onsite Container Workshops in several countries around the world in particular here in Australia and New Zealand.
RYCO 24•7 offers a comprehensive service to many industries with emergency break down, programmed maintenance, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) support, installation and aftermarket businesses. Their professionally trained and dedicated teams are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week offering expert technical support for all types of hydraulic and industrial systems.
RYCO Hydraulics General Manager – Sales & Marketing APAC Sean Babbage is looking forward to joining the Supercars Eseries, “It’s really all about building the brand and the collaboration of real versus virtual motorsport reinforces the core qualities of RYCO 24•7 – speed to market and speed to service,” Babbage said.
“RYCO 24•7 has a distinguished history in motorsport, in particular we have partnered with Team Triton. and have thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with V8 SuperUte front runners – Craig Dontas and Cameron Crick.”
“We’re very excited to partner and team with Brad Jones Racing and looking forward to the upcoming six rounds!” Babbage said.
Returning for his second year with BJR after a 3rd place finish in 2020, Down scored an impressive race win, 7 podiums and four top five positions. Madison is looking forward to joining the team for another season, “It’s a great feeling to be back with Brad Jones Racing again for 2021,” he said.
“Brad and the whole team at BJR were incredible last year and when that opportunity arose to continue with BJR, the offer was too good to refuse! Also, a huge thank you to RYCO 24•7 for getting behind me, hopefully I can score some solid results and have a great campaign.
“In what was a fantastic year in 2020 achieving a solid 3rd place result in the championship, we will be working as a team to build on those results for 2021. The engineering team last year, particularly Tony Woodward and Andrew Edwards were a huge help behind the scenes ensuring that we always had the competitive advantage over our rivals. The continuity that we have in the team will be a massive help in our pursuit of podiums.
“My goal for this season is to be consistently fighting for race wins and podiums. In the last two seasons we’ve run consistently inside the Top 5, 2021 will be about working to move to the next level and work on my driving to extract even more performance. We do also need to ensure we recognise our strengths and that has been the consistency, so it will be important to manage the risk versus reward as well in what will be a super competitive season. I can’t wait for round one!”
Tune in to Fox Sports 506 or our BJR Facebook page this Wednesday night at 7:30pm AEDT to watch Downs in the RYCO 24•7 Racing Commodore turn up the virtual heat!
Source: Brad Jones Racing
Photography: Brad Jones Racing
Join the RYCO 24•7 Team today, visit Business Opportunities for more details.
