THE distinctive black and yellow hues of CAT will return to Supercars at the VALO Adelaide 500 with Super2 squad Matt Chahda Motorsport.
Chahda’s recently revealed CAT Workwear Falcon FG X will bring back plenty of memories for Supercar fans, thanks to the brand’s previous involvement in the sport.
CAT’s heavy machinery business was a primary sponsor from 1999 to 2006, producing plenty of memorable liveries along the way – which V8 Sleuth celebrates with this gallery.
1999
CAT entered V8 racing with PAE Motorsport; a new Perth-based team headed by Steve Renshaw and Kevin Otway that was sold to John Briggs and moved to Brisbane mid-season.
Dick Johnson Racing star John Bowe was signed as driver and started the year in the EL model Falcon pictured at the top of this story before moving into a new AU.
2000
Bowe ended the 1999 season 13th in points having scored a race victory at Queensland Raceway, which proved the 31st and final win of Bowe’s Supercars career.
Season two in the CAT Ford proved even more even more challenging than the first and he finished 16th in the championship.
2001
The CAT livery received a notable change-up for its third season – a year best remember for Bowe’s ousting from the team after the Bathurst 1000.
His replacement was newly crowned Development Series winner Simon Wills, who had showed great speed as a co-driver before crashing in that year’s Great Race.
2002
Wills struggled in the expanded three-car Briggs team in 2002 (which also included two Betta Electrical Falcons) and split with the squad after seven rounds.
Steve Owen, Greg Ritter and Dean Canto took turns behind the wheel for the remainder of the season, while Dale Brede co-drove in the endurance races.
2003
The CAT backing moved to the new Ford Performance Racing for 2003, sponsoring the Prodrive-owned squad’s star recruit Craig Lowndes.
Lowndes won a red-flagged Round 2 at Phillip Island, finished second at Bathurst with Glenn Seton as co-driver and ended up fifth in the championship standings.
2004
The second year for CAT and Lowndes at FPR was a disaster; the team’s Falcons neither fast nor reliable, in part due to a UK-based engine program.
Second again at Bathurst with Seton was one of few highlights as Lowndes ended the year 20th in the championship and departed for Triple Eight.
2005
Jason Bright signed on to drive FPR’s CAT Falcon in 2005 as part of a deal that included establishing his own Britek Motorsport squad, which ran customer FPR equipment.
The 1998 Bathurst winning driver finished ninth in the championship as FPR rebuilt under new manager Tim Edwards.
2006
Bright enjoyed a greatly improved season in 2006, winning races at Winton, Hidden Valley, Sandown (alongside Mark Winterbottom), Symmons Plains and Abu Dhabi.
A strong end to the year was only dampened by engine failure at Bathurst (having started from the front-row) and netted fifth in the championship.
Regardless, it was the end of the road for CAT in Supercars. Bright too moved on, switching to his own team for 2007 while Steven Richards and Castrol stepped in at FPR.
