Brock-themed Bathurst livery for Red Bull
The Red Bull Holden Racing Team will roll out a special retro livery across both its cars for the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 next month.
The squad will tackle the Mountain in predominantly white with splashes of red and black as a throwback to the Holden Toranas Peter Brock and Colin Bond raced at Sandown and Bathurst in 1971.
The initiative is part of Holden’s celebrations of its 50th anniversary of factory involvement in motorsport.
“We tried many variations, but the 1971 HDT livery ended up being the perfect inspiration because of its unique historical appearance,” explained GM Design Australia exterior manager Peter Hughes.
“The horizontal heritage stripes over the roof, for example, are unmistakable and should make a statement over the top of the Mountain, just as they did back in 1971.
“It’s a great way for everyone to celebrate a wonderful history of factory Holden Bathurst entries and the heroic drivers, both past and present, that race them.”
Whincup lauded the livery ahead of his first Bathurst 1000 co-driving with Craig Lowndes in a decade, the pair having won the Great Race three times together in 2006-08.
Their 2019 enduro tilt will use the #888 they took to all three of those wins, parking Whincup's regular #88 plate.
“Craig and I are obviously looking forward to racing together again and it’s a great that we will be doing it with such an iconic livery on our car,” Whincup said.
“Being the factory Holden team is something that Triple Eight is really proud of, so it’s pretty special to be marking their 50th anniversary of factory involvement in this way.
“Holden has had a lot of success at Mount Panorama and we’re very lucky to say we’ve played a small part in that. Lowndesy and I will certainly be trying to add to that next week.”
Lowndes added: “Jamie and I individually have a lot of experience at Bathurst, but we also have a great history racing together.
“To be teaming up with him again in the year that marks the 50th anniversary of Holden’s factory involvement in motorsport will be something we will remember for years to come.”
The livery will also be carried on the #97 ZB Commodore of Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander.
“It’s very cool to have a different livery on the cars for Bathurst,” van Gisbergen said.
“Hopefully the fans like it as much as we do, and we represent Holden well for their anniversary.”
Fans can pre-order retro-themed RBHRT merchandise via the team’s online shop from midday today.
The Red Bull Holden Racing Team is set to take to the track at Queensland Raceway today, undertaking its pre-enduro test.
