Kelly Racing show off Bathurst fan livery

Kelly Racing has taken the covers off its fan-inspired Castrol Mustang livery for the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 this weekend.

The two-car squad last month announced an initiative whereby fans could send in a photo of themselves, a friend or family member with the hashtag #RideWithCastrol to book their place on the #15 entry driven by Rick Kelly and Dale Wood.

Having offered a sneak peek, the finished product has now been released after Kelly and Wood wrapped the car themselves yesterday.

All up, there are approximately 1000 individual faces spread across the livery.

Among them are front-line workers who have battled bushfires and COVID this year, track officials, fans, partners, crew members and their families. Former drivers Larry Perkins, Russell Ingall and Greg Murphy all feature in addition.

The team has also paid tribute to their staff – both those travelling and based in Melbourne – with a graphic featuring their names on the inside of the #15’s driver-side door.

“My 20th Supercars Bathurst 1000 start has been made even more special by this incredible fan-inspired livery that we’ve put together,” said Kelly, a two-time Great Race winner.

“I’m honestly blown away by the support that was shown from all of the fans with this livery, to have around 1000 fans ride with myself and Castrol at the mountain is fantastic and it’s a real honour for myself and Dale to represent them this weekend.

“They come from all walks of life, some of them front-line workers doing it tough, others race fans that may be struggling.

“A lot of them would traditionally be here at the Mountain cheering us on, but with the circumstances we know that wasn’t possible this year, so we wanted to involve them somehow and bring them to the Mountain and I think this livery is something we can all be really proud of.

“The other drivers need to be aware they can’t rub their tyres down the door anymore because you’ll be rubbing people’s faces off!”

Wood added: “It’s a big week for us with it being Rick’s 20th start here, that’s a huge milestone, so it’s great to know we’ve got a lot of support behind us with these 1000 people that will be cheering us on no matter where they are.

“Obviously Rick appears on the car quite a few times so I had to jump on and include a photo of myself on there too.

“It’s going to be a fun game trying to spot where I am on the car, hopefully I’m near Bert from BP – I heard that was pretty expensive real estate!”

Castrol head of marketing Ben Rose said: “The Castrol Racing Mustang looks fantastic with thousands of fan faces riding with Rick, Dale and the team all weekend.

“It’ll be fantastic to see on track and we hope it brings some joy to those who’ve done it so hard this year.

“Castrol would also like to thank Rick and congratulate him on his 20th Bathurst 1000 race.

“We were onboard with Rick for his first one back in 2001 and have enjoyed the journey over two decades – right up to our rewarding partnership with Kelly Racing today. We are so proud to be part of Rick’s and the team's journey.”