The 2023 Darwin Triple Crown at Hidden Valley was the official indigenous round of the Supercars championship for the second year running.
Every car raced at the event featured an Indigenous-themed livery or artwork, produced by various indigenous artists with different stories behind their works.
Various teams and drivers have embraced indigenous artwork on their cars or helmets in the past years for the Darwin round but this was the second time the category as a whole came together in an effort to recognise First Nations people after a successful debut as an official theme in 2022.
The end result was simply stunning once again. The variety of colours and artworks beautifully weaved into the racing schemes of each team was a true sight to behold and made for an exceptional weekend of Supercars racing.
Shell V-Power Racing Team is one of the most popular teams in the Supercars Championship and their indigenous liveries have looked incredible in previous years. 2023 was no different and perhaps their best effort yet with both their #11 and #17 Mustang's featuring the updated look at both the Darwin and Townsville 500 rounds.
The livery featured the artwork of Zoe Raymond, a Perth-born, Queensland-raised, Yindjibarndi/Pinikura woman who lives and works on Turrbal/Jagera country in Brisbane.
The number #11 Anton De Pasquale Mustang looked wildly different, yet familiar with the artwork produced by Zoe weaved into the teams traditional livery - for a bold, refreshing change.
The car looked incredible and De Pasquale also delivered an incredible result for the team in the final race of the Townsville 500 where he won race 17 of the championship. It would be the only win for the team in 2023 and it was the first win for Ford since the season opening round. Given the Triple Eight disqualifications in the season opener, De Pasquale’s Townsville win meant he was the first Ford driver to cross the line first to win a race in 2023. Certainly a tough season for Ford teams and fans who endured a year of parity issues which plagued the category.
Nevertheless, this replica will make for another important collectable for fans of Dick Johnson Racing and Anton De Pasquale.
This 1:18 scale model is scheduled to be produced in high quality die-cast with opening parts which includes the bonnet and both the driver and passenger doors.
A highly detailed racing cockpit can be seen through the molded clear glasshouse, or by opening the doors to examine the interior further. Under the bonnet includes a detailed 5.4-litre Coyote quad overhead cam V8 and engine bay surround. Underneath the model, the undercarriage details the unique Gen3 floorpan.
Comprised of roughly 204 individual metal and plastic parts, with anywhere between 100-200 steps in paint and decoration finishing, including tampo printing where possible, photo etched parts including the bonnet pints, brake rotors and more, this is a high quality, detailed collectors model.
It is scheduled to be produced in an exclusive, one-off limited edition with an individually numbered Certificate of Authenticity presented in its own, Authentic Collectables branded protective cardboard folder.
Once this model is sold out, it won't be available again.
