David Cauchi during the Enduro Cup test at Queensland Raceway. Image: Richard Gresham
Triple Eight announced during the Queensland Raceway weekend that Cauchi would take over engineering duties on Will Brown’s Mustang from the post-event test day.
That’s in line with Brown’s engineer of the last two-and-a-half seasons, Andrew Edwards, shifting into an overarching head of performance role.
The surprise move returns Cauchi to Supercars after eight months on the sidelines, having left his post as team principal at Grove Racing at the end of 2025.
Cauchi departed the Melbourne-based Grove team amid a desire to relocate to Brisbane, citing burnout following more than 20 years in the Supercars pitlane.
He only recently commenced a role as chief operating officer for DMH Group, which owns and operates 11 Bridgestone stores around Queensland.
Cauchi will now balance the two jobs having committed to Triple Eight on a part-time basis.
“I’d only just started my new job at DMH Group and I’ve been really enjoying that,” Cauchi told Speedcafe.
“Jamie called me and, to be honest, I wouldn’t have done it for anyone else.
“It all came about really quickly the week before [Ipswich]. They had a bit going on post Perth with the restrictor [discovery] and that sort of stuff.
“He asked me if I could do it. I said to him, ‘Are you sure this is the right thing?’ And he said, ‘yeah, I’d really like you to do it.”
Although an unplanned return, Cauchi admits the move scratches an itch.
“Of course I’ve missed racing. I’ve missed the competition,” he added, having made a brief cameo at Ipswich for GT4 team Multispares Racing earlier this year.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to step in and engineer a champion driver at the business end of the season in one of the best teams in pitlane.
“How could I say no?”
Triple Eight considered last-minute U-turn on engineer switch
The move comes just over five years after Cauchi defected from Triple Eight to Grove – a shift that resulted in Triple Eight instigating legal action.
Triple Eight alleged Cauchi breached his contract by starting with Grove at the beginning of the new season, rather than seeing out a six-month ‘gardening leave’ period.
The disagreement marked a messy end to a 14-year relationship that included Cauchi engineering Whincup to two championship titles.
“That’s water under the bridge,” he said of the saga, which was settled privately.
“It got patched up a long time ago. It’s a small world and things move on.”
There will be no such issues this time with Cauchi’s six-month notice period with Grove well and truly expired.
Cauchi in fact called Stephen Grove the day before his Triple Eight return was announced and says the now rival team owner was “super supportive”.
“Steve and Brenton [Grove] are the ultimate competitors. They truly understand the sport and that people come and go,” he said.
“Steve said he was happy for me… but that he hopes I get used to staying in garage number two!”
Cauchi said the part-time nature of his Triple Eight deal means leaning heavily on Edwards and technical director Pete Ringwood when preparing for events.
It’s a different structure for the team and one that Whincup has admitted “could be the best thing ever… or could be a disaster”.
Whincup described the deal as a “five-round trial”, while Cauchi was even less committal over the future.
“We haven’t even discussed that,” he said. “The contract is until the end of the year.”
The #888 Red Bull Ampol Racing Ford Mustang will be shared in the Enduro Cup by Brown and Scott Pye.