MATT Stone Racing has further bolstered its engineering ranks, welcoming back Supercars veteran Wes McDougall.
McDougall spent eight seasons (2005-12) in the Stone Brothers Racing organisation, continuing on with the team as it subsequently became Erebus Motorsport.
He then rejoined the Stone fold – an up-and-coming MSR outfit – where he was the lead engineer through its 2017 Super2 title campaign and its ascension into the main game the following year.
McDougall only departed MSR when Triple Eight Race Engineering swooped on him to work alongside seven-time champion Jamie Whincup for the 2021 season.
The duo took second in the championship including a pair of race wins, although their combination disbanded at season’s end with McDougall taking a health-related sabbatical from Supercars and Whincup hanging up the helmet.
V8 Sleuth has learnt McDougall recently rejoined MSR and indeed he is at Queensland Raceway today for its shakedown of Jack Le Brocq’s #34 Chevrolet Camaro.
McDougall is working in a part-time engineering capacity, is not assigned to a particular car, and is not expected to travel to events.
“So he has been for a little while now a returning member of our engineering team,” MSR owner Matt Stone told V8 Sleuth.
“Obviously he was on a sabbatical so he wasn’t in a full-time capacity and still isn’t, but certainly he is a member of our engineering group and someone we’ve welcomed back with open arms.”
McDougall’s recruitment is the latest off-track win for MSR, who signed Paul Forgie from Brad Jones Racing to be rookie Cameron Hill’s 2023 race engineer.
Forgie also worked at SBR in the 2000s; he was Marcos Ambrose’s race engineer in both of his Supercars title-winning campaigns.
Le Brocq meanwhile is paired with Jack Bellotti for a second straight season.
