Walkinshaw Andretti United has today revealed the three Indigenous Round liveries the Team will run at the Darwin Triple Crown from June 17-19, designed by KARI Foundation.
All three Walkinshaw Andretti United entries, driven by Chaz Mostert, Nick Percat and Jayden Ojeda, will run unique liveries for Indigenous Round, with Car 2 and 25 designed by Brian ‘Deadly’ DeVries, and Car 27 designed by Rhonda Sampson.
Brian ‘Deadly’ DeVries is a proud Wiradjuri Gunya man with ties to the Yuin Nation. Brian is very passionate about sharing Aboriginal culture through traditional art, dance, and music. Brian uses painting as a platform for storytelling, as it provides a connection between people, places and environment.
Rhonda Sampson is a proud Kamilaroi woman who lives on Dharawal country in South Western Sydney. Art is central to Rhonda’s cultural identity, and she is passionate about sharing this with all people, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous so they can come together on the journey of understanding Aboriginal culture, stories and identity.
The connection between Walkinshaw Andretti United and the KARI Foundation came through valued partner Optus, who in 2018, launched a partnership with KARI Foundation. This connection has been embraced by Co-Naming Right’s partners, NTI and Mobil 1. KARI’s mission is to build strength in families and services and their vision is to help Aboriginal families, youth and communities flourish.
KARI was established in 1999 through the creation of KARI Limited, which has long supported the Aboriginal community by designing and delivering quality programming and services. Today, KARI Limited continues to be a leader in the space of Aboriginal child protection.
In 2016, after 17 years of successful operations, the KARI Board of Directors agreed to the creation of the KARI Foundation. They understood the outcomes of Aboriginal could be further achieved by increased collaboration between state and federal Governments, Corporate Australia and Collective Australia.
The design seen on the Mobil 1 Optus Racing No. 25 and Mobil 1 NTI Racing No. 2, which was originally created to honour of the collaboration between Optus and KARI Foundation, is titled ‘Community Togetherness.’
It captures the journeys of travel coming together, the meeting places, the ripples of communication and the knowledge that is shared and is always plentiful.
The East Coast Lubes No. 27’s artwork, “Community, Culture and Connection,” is a visual representation of the KARI Foundation and all their partners commitment to showcase Aboriginal excellence through the shared vision, mission, and values of the KARI Foundation.
The motif at the centre of the artwork represents the KARI Foundation and the many partners they collaborate with. Surrounding the motif are the seven pillars of connection: leadership, education, family and community, employment and business enterprise, sports and healthy lifestyle, creative and performing arts and procurement. The seven pillars provide points of connection and entry for Aboriginal people and culture to enrich community life.
All three cars will proudly display their Indigenous Designs at the Darwin Triple Crown this weekend, with on-track running starting Friday, July 17 with practice before three races over the course of the weekend.
Bruce Stewart - Walkinshaw Andretti United Team Principal
“It’s fantastic to be able to celebrate the contribution of our indigenous community across all three of our cars this weekend for Indigenous Round.
“The KARI Foundation has been phenomenal to work with, and it’s been fantastic to build on the relationship Optus started with them in 2019. We appreciate the connection.
“This is something that has been supported by not only everyone in our team, but our entire partner group, which is really cool to see.
“The grid will look fantastic, we have a number of initiatives we can’t wait to bring to life over the course of the weekend, in what is a really important weekend for everyone involved.”
Cain Slater - KARI Foundation COO
“KARI Foundation is excited to work with two of our partners Optus and Walkinshaw Andretti United to deliver these amazing designs and also continue the conversion about reconciliation.
Sport plays an important role in celebrating First Nations people and Culture and we are proud to work with both Optus and Walkinshaw Andretti United for this important round.”
Melissa Hopkins - Optus VP of Marketing
“We are really excited about bringing together two of our valued partners in Walkinshaw Andretti United and KARI Foundation to celebrate Indigenous Round in true Optus style,”
“Celebrating the valued contribution of our indigenous community is extremely important to us at Optus, and we hope to inspire the groups we are hosting at the track from the Clontarf Foundation.
“We especially love how the Walkinshaw Andretti United team have embraced Indigenous Round and we can’t wait to see the first-ever grid filled with indigenous-themed liveries when we race at Hidden Valley.”
Jason Kibsgaard - Head of Marketing - NTI
“NTI are proud to be in a partnership that uses its platform to acknowledge and celebrate our First Nations people.
“As an Australian brand with strong ties to regional and rural Australia, NTI acknowledge and respect Australia's First Nations and the contributions to our shared heritage.
“We look forward to seeing the collective work of art that is the grid, and showcasing the amazing talent that is the artists.”