The Repco Supercars Championship enjoyed a successful Indigenous Round as part of the Merlin Darwin Triple Crown, incorporating the Indigenous youth motorsport program Racing Together.
Not only did the program’s racing team get a chance to compete in one of the support categories, but the participants also helped with some of the round’s activations.
One of those who was actively involved in the round was the team’s driver Braedyn Cidoni, who outside of steering their Racing Together Excel to sixth in class, also designed the livery for the two Shell V Power Racing Team Ford Mustangs.
Inspired by artist Alison Millcock, Cidoni was able to create a design that had meaning to both the rich Indigenous culture of Australia and environmental awareness for the world as a whole.
A similar design was also used on the Racing Together Excel, with the only difference being less animals.
“It was pretty awesome to be up in Darwin for the event, as well as being on the big screen. It was all very exciting,” Cidoni said.
“It was crazy being able to do the design for Will Davison and Anton De Pasquale's cars. I basically had free reign during the design too – the only rule being that I had to make sure that it stayed within Shell V Power Racing Team’s yellow and red colour scheme.
“I did some research and found some of the work of Alison (Millcock) to be quite inspiring. I thought I could adapt that to make the design.
“The main goal behind both Ford Mustangs and our Excel was to have representation of animals that have good stories behind them. The turtles, for example, are there to spread awareness for the life we have and about littering – especially with issues surrounding plastic.
“I also thought it would be good to add a snake into the design to showcase the fierceness of motorsport.
“Seeing Will get two podiums on Sunday and my designs at the front of the field was pretty cool.”
As for the Racing Together car itself, this round marked just their third race meeting since the program began at the end of last year.
Two race meetings as part of the Motorsport Australia Queensland Circuit Championships at Morgan Park were enough to prepare the team for their biggest test yet.
Cidoni didn’t show many signs of nervousness on the big stage as he finished sixth in class and continued his development behind the wheel.
“I am very happy with how we went. Even though I made a couple of mistakes, we had the pace all weekend and we finished sixth in the Excels class which was great,” Cidoni added.
“We are definitely improving as a team. We are more cohesive, working together better and getting into more of a rhythm with everything.
“Racing Together has been a fantastic opportunity. Being at a Supercars event in just my third ever race meeting and on the big screen is incredible. It’s an awesome experience.
“With that said, I wouldn’t be in this position without Garry and Monique Connelly, Roland Dane, Paul Morris and Ryan Story, so a big thank you to them of course."
Racing Together’s founder, Garry Connelly was thrilled with Supercars’ indigenous round and how the team handled itself.
“It was a fantastic celebration of Indigenous culture, so congratulations to Supercars and all the teams for producing a spectacular show,” Connelly said.
“I am very proud of Braedyn and the whole Racing Together team for what they were able to achieve during the weekend. The liveries looked wonderful and the team continues to improve in their performances when it comes to the racing.
“This is something we’re very keen on continuing in the future and with the support of Supercars, the teams and their drivers, I am sure it’s something we will be able to do.”
The program’s next round will be on 27 August at Morgan Park.