Red Bull Ampol Racing Reveal Clontarf Academy-designed Indigenous Livery

Darwin, June 13, 2024 -- Red Bull Ampol Racing have unveiled their stunning Indigenous liveries for the upcoming Darwin Triple Crown, designed by the amazingly talented students of Gunnedah's Clontarf Academy.

The Clontarf Foundation has been a longstanding community partner of the team's co-naming right’s partner, Ampol, and 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, it supports 95 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students through the programme which encourages them to participate in education, employment and society in a positive way.

The artwork, aptly named 'The Journey of the Driver', 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.

Red Bull Ampol Racing will also sell a limited-edition collection of Darwin Triple Crown merchandise which features the artwork, with 10% 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.

The special livery will be emblazoned across both the #87 and #88 Chevrolet Camaros. On-track action from the Darwin Triple Crown will begin on Friday, 14 June.

Broc Feeney said: "The cars look amazing – these Clontarf kids are seriously talented.

"I'm looking forward to having the students from Gunnedah join us up in Darwin for the race weekend. The story behind the artwork which they’ve created is pretty special - hearing them all talk through the artwork was really interesting.

"I just remember last year how special it was showing the students through the design on the car. You remind yourself how cool it is for those guys to come up to Darwin and experience what’s normal for us. It was even more special winning Sunday's race last year and sharing the podium with Brock (Compton, last year’s Indigenous livery artist and fellow Clontarf Academy member), so fingers crossed we can give these kids a similar experience."

Will Brown said: "It's a great initiative what Ampol and the Clontarf Foundation do for these young kids and then to give them the opportunity to design our livery is pretty incredible.

"To hear from the students about the story of the artwork, really helped me to get a better understanding of their story - there was a lot more behind it than I initially thought. Learning what all the elements represent was really cool to get a full understanding of what it all means as a whole.

"Having the students join us in Darwin is fantastic. To have them in our environment and see these awesome-looking cars battle it out on track will be an experience they’ll hopefully cherish forever."

Red Bull Ampol Racing team principal Jamie Whincup said:  "What an incredible design this group of school mates from Gunnedah's Clontarf Academy have put together for our Red Bull Ampol Racing cars.

"I'm blown away by the talent they have 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, Chief Brand Officer, Ampol Australia said:  "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."

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