Triple Eight Race Engineering will swap the action of pit-lane for the crystal clear waters of the Coral Sea when they set sail this month for Australia’s largest offshore yachting event, the Audi Hamilton Island Race Week.

In what is currently one of the biggest competition breaks in V8 Supercar history, the Team is keeping their adrenalin levels afloat by taking part from 21-28 August.

The Team’s France borne boat named ‘Jessandra’, after Team Principal Roland Dane’s two daughters, will make her debut at the regatta against 19 entrants in the IRC Grand Prix.

In what is set to be a compelling regatta, 9.5 metre Jessandra will be the smallest boat to contest in the class and will face yachts up to three times her length.

Dane, who will take the role of Skipper, said, “We will make up for the size of the boat with ego. The competition is more for fun than anything. Sailing has been a part of my life since I could walk and I’m absolutely passionate about it. “

“I entered the event because I’ve sailed for years but never at this level. I wanted to move away from the cruising aspect for the time being and try my hand at racing.

“We’re on a rather large break at the moment from the V8 Supercar Championship Series and this is our chance to try something different,” he explained.

With their RQ888 sail hoisted high, the five man squad aim to take their teamwork skills from the track to the competition but admit there are a number of factors which may challenge them on the water.

TeamVodafone’s Commercial Operations Manager and Foredeck Peter Jamieson said, “The Crew have been sailing most of their lives, I started when I was eight years old. But our secret weapon is having Michael Spies on board who is a seasoned ocean racer.  He has won the Sydney to Hobart outright and within divisions, and is an integral part of the Volvo 70, Ichi Ban.”

“We definitely have a strong competitive mentality. I have won the sports boat category before, but being the smallest boat in the Grand Prix class, what we lack in size, we are making up with enthusiasm.

“Jessandra is brand new and has never been raced, so we are starting from scratch in regards to boat performance. Heading into the regatta, we have confidence that we have prepared the boat as best we can in the short time frame, but there are still many unknowns, which ideally you don’t want to test in a racing situation.

“The best part of the day will probably be a warm shower! My end of the boat is quite wet as it takes plenty of water over the bow, and being on the starting line with much bigger boats will be interesting too,” he stated.

The historical event will take place just weeks before the much anticipated Endurance Races starting with the L&H 500 Phillip Island to be held on the 10-12 September.