Triple Eight completes Indigenous livery field

The full field of Indigenous Round liveries have been unveiled, with Red Bull Ampol Racing uncovering its Darwin look designed by students of Gunnedah’s Clontarf Academy.

The Clontarf Foundation has been a longstanding community partner of Triple Eight's co-naming right’s partner, Ampol.

The Foundation operates to improve the education, life skills, self-esteem, and employment prospects of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men through academies in schools across Australia.

The Gunnedah Academy in north west NSW, is one of the most recently established of the 160 Clontarf Foundation academies around Australia.

Based at the local Gunnedah High School, the Academy supports 95 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students through the program, which encourages them to participate in education, employment and society in a positive way.

The artwork on the Broc Feeney and Will Brown Chevrolets is named ‘The Journey of the Driver,’ and was created by the students to describe the life of a Red Bull Ampol Racing driver.

Red Bull Ampol Racing will also sell a limited-edition collection of Darwin merchandise which features the artwork, with 10 percent of sales from every item sold being donated to the Clontarf Foundation. Merchandise will be available both online and at the team’s track store in Darwin.

“What an incredible design this group of school mates from Gunnedah’s Clontarf Academy have put together for our Red Bull Ampol Racing cars,” Triple Eight boss Jamie Whincup said.

"I’m blown away by the talent they’ve shown and the amazing story this artwork represents. I’m so thankful that all our major partners, led by Ampol, continue to support Supercars’ Indigenous round, and let us represent their brands through this unique livery.

“To have the Clontarf students travel to Darwin with the team, many of them not having been on a plane before, is really humbling. I commend Ampol for making this happen and congratulate them on their continued partnership with the Clontarf Foundation.

“Finally, I want to acknowledge the guys and girls back at Triple Eight for their hard work putting three spectacular cars together. It certainly isn’t an easy task to prepare and re-wrap three cars and their respective spare panels in a short period of time, but in typical Triple Eight style, they nailed it."

Clayton Friend, Gunnedah’s Clontarf Academy, said: “I saw a sneak peak of the design a few weeks ago and it looked great but to be able to see the actual cars with the artwork that we designed will be really special.

"We’re from a small town and we don’t get to go to large events like the Supercars let alone be able to travel to Darwin. It’s such a cool experience.

“One of the best things is being able to share this with the other academy members. They’re all so excited to see some car racing, meet the drivers and hopefully the team can get a win or two.

“It’s an amazing opportunity for us and we really appreciate everything that Ampol and the wider Red Bull Ampol Racing team have organised.”

Jenny O’Regan, Ampol Australia Chief Brand Officer, added: "For over 13 years, Ampol and the Clontarf Foundation have together championed improved education outcomes of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men.

"We are proud to have Clontarf representation once again at the upcoming Darwin Triple Crown, represented by the Gunnedah Academy who have provided the stunning 'The Journey of the Driver' Indigenous livery design for the Red Bull Ampol Racing team.

"The Gunnedah students will also experience the Supercars race firsthand, connect with the local land and culture of the Larrakia people and meet local Clontarf academies.”

Red Bull Ampol Racing artwork explained

Artist: Gunnedah’s Clontarf Academy

Artwork: ‘The Journey of the Driver’

The artwork on the cars is named ‘The Journey of the Driver,’ and was created by the students to describe the life of a Red Bull Ampol Racing driver. The centre circles symbolised by the U shapes are a meeting place. The U shapes are the symbol for a person, this represents the drivers and the extended crew, working together as one. The four corners with striped dots represent the many roads/tracks the driver races on throughout their career.