ADRIAN Burgess has drawn parallels between the mission to take Team 18 to the top and the championship quest he once led at Dick Johnson Racing.
DJR was at a low when the ex-Formula 1 guru joined as its sporting director in August 2006, some five years on from its last race win.
The team trended upwards in seasons 2007-08, and then signed James Courtney with whom title glory would arrive in 2010.
Burgess nowadays is at the helm of Team 18, which has gone from finishing 10th in the 2024 teams’ championship to now being General Motors’ homologation squad.
Heightened scrutiny has been attached to that status, headlined by the recent public slanging match that has gone on between Holden legend Mark Skaife and the Team 18 hierarchy.
Skaife and Burgess went head-to-head last night on MotorRacing 360, on which the latter outlined the goal to get Anton De Pasquale into this year’s Adelaide Grand Final, and more broadly to become a destination team for drivers.
De Pasquale is central to Team 18’s plans, and it’s no secret that Matt Payne has been lined up for when his Grove Racing deal expires.
“Rome wasn’t built overnight… at the moment it’s about the progression of the team, the team growing and learning how to be winners,” said Burgess.
As for making itself an attractive proposition, Burgess commented: “This is what we’re trying to do.
“I did this at DJR with Courtney, but you have got to show the drivers and show the people that your team is worth them going to.
Adrian Burgess, James Courtney, Scott Sinclair and Dick Johnson celebrate the 2010 title. Pic: an1images.com / Justin Deeley
“That takes time to build that up and then you become attractive to an A-grader, to quote Cam (Waters).
“But this is part of the process you’re in… you have got to improve your competitiveness as a team to then be attractive to those guys, which is the process we’re in.”
In a neat tie to that DJR ascension of old, Courtney and Burgess have been reunited this year, ‘JC’ having signed as David Reynolds’ enduro co-driver.