Paul Dumbrell

Paul Dumbrell
Paul Dumbrell at the 2010 Clipsal 500 Adelaide
Nationality	Australian
V8 Supercar Record
Car number	1
Current team	Triple Eight Race Engineering
Series championships	0
Races	276
Race wins	5
Podium finishes	10
Pole positions	3
2014 Championship position	26th (810 pts)

Paul Dumbrell (born 1 September 1982 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), is an Australian business executive and racing driver.

Racing history

Son of former racing driver Garry Dumbrell, Paul Dumbrell started racing in karts in 1996 and by the end of 1997 Dumbrell was looking to further his racing. He was educated at Xavier College in Kew, Melbourne and resides in Melbourne, Australia. He competed in the Australian Sprint Kart National Championships in April 1998 and then attended the Jim Russell International School of Racing in England. During the course, Dumbrell had his first experience in a racing car, a Formula Vauxhall. At age 15 he was the youngest in the class and even though he was the fastest graduate from the school, he was ineligible for the final race, for which drivers had to be 16.

On returning to Australia he looked to do a couple of races in Formula Ford but broke his hip when hit by a car while training on his mountain bike. This injury prevented him from racing for 8 weeks and put an end to any chance of running a Formula Ford. At the end of 1998 he entered his first production car race, the GT Production three-hour at Bathurst in a Subaru WRX, but his race ended with mechanical failure.^[1] For the 1999 season he drove a Formula Holden in the Australian Drivers' Championship, and had his first race in the V8 Supercar Championship Series in August 1999 at Symmons Plains, in Tasmania.

After a full year's experience in a Formula Holden, Dumbrell had the chance to test a Formula 3000 car with Mark Webber for Paul Stoddart's Arrows Team, driving 20 laps in the car at Donington Park. When he returned to Australia he took up a permanent driving spot in the Konica V8 Supercar Development Series. 2001 saw Dumbrell consistently at the front, and he won the Series in 2002.

Dumbrell made his first Bathurst 1000 start at age 17, and was the youngest ever driver to drive a V8 Supercar. He raced a Wynns/Falkuner Racing #96 Holden VS Commodore with Matthew White, qualifying the car in 33rd position but retiring on lap 15 after he hit the wall at McPhillamy Park.^[2]

Castrol Perkins Motorsport

2002 saw Dumbrell picked up by Castrol Perkins Racing's Team Owner Larry Perkins as his co-driver in the Castrol Perkins Holden VX Commodore at both the Queensland 500 and Bathurst 1000. At Bathurst that year, Perkins and Dumbrell finished a surprise fifth position overall.^[3] That fifth placing helped Dumbrell secure a 2-year deal with the Castrol Perkins Motorsport Team for 2003 and 2004.

In 2005, Dumbrell achieved his best-ever round V8 Supercar Championship Series result at Symmons Plains, Tasmania - the venue of his first ever V8 Supercar start - ending the round in fifth place.^[4] 2005 also saw his best ever Championship placing, finishing in 20th, after placing 29th in 2003 and 24th in 2004.

2006 saw Paul driving the number 11 Holden VZ Commodore to 12th place, his best ever V8 Supercar Championship Series placing. He finished 5th at Bathurst and was within reach of a podium finish until slowed by mechanical problems.

Supercheap Auto Racing

For the 2007 season, Dumbrell moved from Jack Daniels Racing to Super Cheap Auto Racing, replacing Greg Murphy. He had a poor season due to the unreliability of the Super Cheap/PWR cars, and the only highlight was a 6th placing with Paul Weel at the Sandown 500.

HSV Dealer Team

The Holden VE Commodore of Paul Dumbrell at Queensland Raceway 2008.

In 2008, Dumbrell joined the HSV Dealer Team to drive the #16 Autobarn Holden Commodore, as teammate to 2006 V8 Supercar Champion, Rick Kelly. It was a season in which good results were hard to come by.

Walkinshaw Racing

In 2009 Dumbrell stayed under the Walkinshaw umbrella with the newly formed for Walkinshaw Racing team which replaced the defunct HSV Dealer Team, driving an Autobarn sponsored Holden VE Commodore.

Rod Nash Racing

The Ford FG Falcon of Paul Dumbrell at the 2010 Clipsal 500 Adelaide.

For the 2010 V8 Supercar season, Dumbrell signed with Rod Nash Racing to drive their No. 55, "Bottle-o" sponsored, Ford Performance Racing prepared Ford FG Falcon in a deal encompassing 2010, 2011 and 2012 seasons. This marked his first experience of racing a Ford, having competed in Holdens throughout his V8 Supercar career.

Dumbrell recorded his first V8 Supercar Championship podium finish at the 2010 Falken Tasmania Challenge ^[5] and followed this up with his first Championship race win ^[6] and first Championship pole position ^[7] at the next event, the 2010 Norton 360 Sandown Challenge. On 8 August 2011, Dumbrell announced he will retire from full-time driving at the end of the 2011 season.^[8]

Triple Eight Race Engineering

Despite his retirement from full-time racing, Dumbrell will return in a limited basis for 2012 in order to comply with V8 Supercar regulations on drivers for the endurance races. V8 Supercars prohibits a team's two drivers from sharing one car for the two endurance races. Each team must have a different co-driver.

Dumbrell will serve as Jamie Whincup's co-driver in Triple Eight Race Engineering's Vodafone-sponsored #1 Holden VE Commodore for the two races in question, the Dick Smith Sandown 500 and Supercheap Auto Parts Bathurst 1000.

Dumbrell and Whincup were successful in winning the Supercheap Bathurst 1000 in 2012.

On December 11, 2014 Red Bull Racing Australia confirmed Dumbrell would remain as co-driver to Jamie Whincup for the 2015 endurance season.^[9]

Career results

References

External links

• Paul Dumbrell official site
• Driver Database stats