BJR celebrating NAIDOC week for Townsville 500
Brad Jones Racing will keep all four of their Chevrolet Camaros wrapped in their Indigenous Round liveries for the upcoming Townsville 500 (July 7-9) in celebration of NAIDOC week.
NAIDOC week is observed in early July, from the 2nd until the 9th and so it’s only fitting to keep the BJR cars in their stunning and meaningful Indigenous Round guises that debuted at the Darwin Triple Crown.
The SCT Logistics car will remain in its outstanding livery based on the artworks of Goomeroi/Kamilaroi woman Elenore Binge and her piece ‘Journey’.
‘Journey’ was commissioned by the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) within its Reconciliation Action Plan in 2021 and represents the country on which the ARTC operates and the ongoing efforts of Reconciliation.
The 2023 NAIDOC theme is ‘For Our Elders’ which was part of the inspiration for the creation of the designs on the R&J Batteries Camaro, Middy’s Electrical Camaro and Pizza Hut Camaro.
The artwork used across those three cars were created by the Mungabareena Aboriginal Corporation’s (MAC) Elders activity group.
The Elders who were part of the project with MAC said that they had “a new lease on life” while working on the art that would be carried in the Supercars Championship.
The group visited the BJR workshop prior to the team leaving for Darwin and were able to see the designs they’d worked tirelessly on in the flesh.
It was an incredible moment for the team to meet the artists and to hear about the process they went through to create the incredibly meaningful designs.
The ‘For The Elders’ theme is carried specifically on the #14 Middy’s Electrical car, with the green flower representing elders in the community that we look to with respect and for guidance.
The four Camaros were stunning representatives of First Nations’ culture and their rich history in the Indigenous Round.
BJR is proud to carry these liveries again into the sixth Repco Supercars Championship round in Queensland’s North.
Coming off the back of a successful weekend in Darwin, with two more podiums added to the season’s tally, the squad are looking for more in Townsville.
Andre Heimgartner (R&J Batteries #8), produced back-to-back podiums on the Sunday in the NT, doubled with two front row starts and is eager for the challenge that the street circuit presents.
While hometown hero Bryce Fullwood (Middy’s Electrical #14) was just as speedy but wasn’t able to maximise qualifying on the Sunday which hurt his chances heading into the races but did grab a top ten.
Macauley Jones in the Pizza Hut Racing #96 matched his best performance for the year with a 7th in the Saturday race, with the Albury local looking to take that momentum to Townsville.
Jack Smith meanwhile in the #4 SCT Logistics Camaro will take positives from the team’s Darwin performance and is excited to head to North Queensland to apply them.
The team will be on track in Townsville on Friday July 7 for the first practice session at 10:10 AEST.
For more on NAIDOC week and ‘For Our Elders’ - https://www.naidoc.org.au/awards/current-theme
What our team had to say…
Brad Jones
Team owner, Brad Jones Racing
“We have made the decision with our sponsors to keep these amazing liveries for another round to celebrate NAIDOC week. The cars looked amazing in Darwin and it felt right to keep them the same for Townsville.
“Working with the Mungabareena Aboriginal Corporation and their Elders group was a pleasure for our team and it was eye opening to host them in our workshop before Darwin.
“We were given a unique insight into what work they did to be able to create these meaningful pieces of art and I’m so proud that we get to continue to have them on our cars for another round.
“Thank you to SCT Logistics, Middy’s Electrical, Pizza Hut and R&J Batteries who are all very supportive.”
Andre Heimgartner
Supercars driver, #8 R&J Batteries Camaro
“Everyone is still learning but I think right now we're less confused than some other people, which is awesome. I think Townsville has been a happy hunting ground and a place we all like going. We'll all go back to Queensland and enjoy the heat in Townsville. It’s very different, it’s a street track and it’s very rough, very short corners compared to Darwin. Hidden Valley has very long loaded corners. So Townsville is a very different challenge.”
Macauley Jones
Supercars driver, #96 Pizza Hut Racing Camaro
“Darwin was a pretty strong weekend for us. There were a few things that needed tidying up and some that were out of our hands, but overall we were able to do a good job. Donners [Andrew Donelly, engineer] did a great job putting us where we needed to be and we have some confidence coming out of Hidden Valley. Townsville both as an event and the track are different challenges, we have refuelling back which we haven’t had since Newcastle. The cars and our understanding of them have developed a bit since then, so we will have to see.”
Bryce Fullwood
Supercars driver, #14 Middy's Electrical Camaro
“Townsville will probably be a little less full on for me. It’s amazing racing at home and being with family in the NT and being in the top ten twice was really cool in front of the home crowd, it was really special that weekend. But this weekend we’ve got two longer races, it’s a different format than what we have had for the last few rounds. We did well in the longer races in Newcastle, I was able to move forward and make up a lot of places over that distance. I’m excited to head back there, we have some momentum and it’d be good to carry that on.”
Jack Smith
Supercars driver, #4 SCT Logistics Camaro
“We have some positives to take to Townsville. The car we had in Darwin was pretty speedy and hopefully that can convert to Townsville. The street circuit is cool, I quite like the track. It’s a new challenge in these cars and I’m excited to head to Townsville.”