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Caruso unveils World Cup-themed helmet for SKYCITY Triple Crown

18 Jun 2014
Michael Caruso will run a special World Cup-themed helmet design for the weekend's SKYCITY Triple Crown, supporting his other favourite sport.
3 mins by James Pavey
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Michael Caruso will compete with a special World Cup-themed helmet design for the weekend's SKYCITY Triple Crown in Darwin, the sixth event of the V8 Supercars Championship.

The #36 Norton Nissan driver has dedicated his life to being a motor racing star, but his other great passion in life is soccer, and with the World Cup currently underway in Brazil, he has dedicated the design of his helmet to 'the world game'.

"It was timely that this event coincided with the start of the Football World Cup, and I've decided to don a new look on my helmet," Caruso said.

"The helmet features some inspiration from Australia, Italy, host nation Brazil, and the top of it is a copy of the actual ball they are using in the tournament."

To unveil the helmet, Caruso enjoyed a kick of the football with senior players from Uni Azzurri Football Club, a local Darwin team.

Caruso calls himself an Australian, but with Italian blood running thick through his veins, his helmet features tributes to the Australian 'Socceroos,' as well as the 'Azzurri' - Italy's national football team.

"I love football, especially around the World Cup. Most of my friends in V8 Supercars always want to talk about Formula 1, NASCAR or IndyCar, but for me, it's all about the world game!"

The addition of the new helmet has arrived in time for an event fond to Caruso's heart, as Darwin's Hidden Valley Raceway was the circuit where he picked up the first race win of his career in 2009.

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"Darwin is a special place for me. It's the track where I got my first race win and it's a track that I'm very fond of," Caruso said.

"It was great that we got to test our Norton Nissan at Winton a couple of weeks ago. It was the first test that we'd had since the start of the year, so it was nice to try a bunch of things that we've been sitting on for a few months.

"I'm confident that we've found some gains, but most teams have also tested between Perth and Darwin, so I'm expecting that everyone will have made an improvement during the break."

Caruso, the driver of the #36 Norton Nissan Altima, is Nissan's leading driver in the V8 Sueprcars title chase, currently 13th in the points.

He sits one place ahead of Norton teammate James Moffat, with fellow Nissan drivers Rick and Todd Kelly sitting 18th and 24th.

The Jack Daniel's-backed Kelly brothers are no strangers to success around the Hidden Valley circuit, with the pair holding a total of five race wins to their credit on the 2.87km circuit. Todd has three career wins at the track, while Rick has two, including his most recent triumph in 2011.Click here for Rick and Todd's preview of the SKYCITY Triple Crown.

Tickets are available for the event, which runs from June 20-22 in the Top End, as well as the Castrol Townsville 500 -Driven by TAFE Queensland in a fortnight.

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