PremiAir uncovers Gardner/Crompton tribute livery

Chris Pither and Cameron Hill will honour Wayne Gardner and Neil Crompton with a special Bathurst livery.

The Pither/Hill #22 PremiAir Commodore will carry a throwback Coca-Cola livery.

The livery is a tribute to the 1995 scheme raced by Gardner and Crompton.

It comes after Shell V-Power Racing Team uncovered a tribute livery on Monday.

Both Shell V-Power Fords will carry Dick Johnson Racing's 1998 scheme.

Former world motorcycle champion Gardner and Supercars Hall of Famer Crompton scored a podium with the red Coca-Cola livery.

The throwback PremiAir scheme is complete with retro number on the doors of the #22 Commodore.

It's a doubly special livery for the team considering it is facilitating Hill's Bathurst debut.

Pither, who will make his first full-time Great Race start since 2020, was delighted to recognise Bathurst history.

“When it came to deciding what car and team to honour for this year’s Bathurst, we couldn’t go past Wayne Gardner and Neil Crompton’s #7 Coca-Cola car,” Pither said.

“It is a truly iconic car, instantly recognisable, and of course, it obviously has a lot of synergy for us being backed by Coca-Cola.

“I am very happy with the look and I can’t wait to see what we can do while flying these colours at the Great Race this year.”

The 1996 Coca-Cola car Pic: AN1 Images

Gardner, who won the 500c title in 1987, opened his own team in 1994.

Gardner bought out Bob Forbes’s team, which ran a single GIO-backed car for Crompton in 1993.

Gardner and Crompton paired up in Bathurst between 1994 and 1997.

They led the 1997 race before the engine failed.

Gardner famously opened the V8 Supercars era with a win under lights at Calder Park in 1997.

Lyndon Hunter, National Partnerships Manager at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, echoed Pither’s sentiments.

“Coca-Cola has a very long and passionate association with motorsports,” Hunter said.

“We jumped at the chance to honour some of our history and the achievements of our drivers’ past at Bathurst, the most storied racing venue there is in Australia.

“The livery is equal parts striking and nostalgic and is a very fitting tribute to the #7 Coca-Cola that we saw flying around Mount Panorama in ’95 with Wayne Gardner and Neil Crompton behind the wheel.

"We can’t wait to see it in action this October.”

Pither and Hill will complete their final pre-Bathurst test day at Queensland Raceway on Wednesday.

Cars will hit the track in Bathurst next Thursday.

Tickets for the Repco Bathurst 1000 are available on Supercars.com and Ticketek.