The now predominantly white livery will take Lowndes and TeamVortex into their second season together, Lowndes having scored two race wins on the way to fourth in the championship last year.

“Last year was all about getting the formula right,” said six-time Bathurst 1000 winner Lowndes.

“This year we can apply all that we learned last year and focus on getting consistent results. I have got a very strong team behind me and I’m really excited to continue developing that relationship with Irish (John McGregor, Race Engineer). He obviously engineered me for the last few races in 2016 and did a fantastic job, so I’ve no doubt that we’ll only get better together with time.”

TeamVortex was formed last year to add a third Commodore to the Triple Eight Race Engineering stable, which also fields the Red Bull Racing Australia Commodores in the Supercars series.

Previously Lowndes was on the Red Bull side of the Triple Eight garage alongside long-term team-mate Jamie Whincup, but the arrival of an additional Triple Eight driver in Shane van Gisbergen prompted the formation of a second, Caltex-backed team with Lowndes as driver.

“To have the continued support of all our team partners is a fantastic confidence boost,” said Lowndes.

“It gives not only me and the crew confidence, but the entire operation. It is proof that we are doing it right, that our team partners have the same passion that we do, and of the strong belief that the sport is really achieving. I thank our team partners for all their support; we couldn’t do it without them.”

Back at the workshop, a brand new Triple Eight-built chassis is under construction and should be ready for testing by mid-February.

“The guys and girls have been working hard, as always,” Lowndes said.

“In true Triple Eight fashion we’ve decided to introduce three brand new chassis in the holiday ‘downtime’. There is never a quiet moment; we are always onto the next project!”