MOTORSPORT: Bathurst 1000 battle hots up

The battle of Bathurst between Supercheap Auto and Repco has taken a new twist with the unveiling of the car that Russell Ingall and Broc Feeney will race in the 2021 Repco Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama on December 5.

Supercheap has not recovered from the loss last year of naming-rights sponsorship of The Great Race, despite switching its backing to the TCR Australia Series as Repco expanded its presence to include the Supercars championship.

Now it has splashed two key messages on the car that will be raced by ‘The Enforcer and The Kid’.

The most obvious is the ‘Proudly Australian’ tagline on the bonnet and sides of the car, which is being fielded by the crack Triple Eight Race Engineering squad that goes to Bathurst as defending champion with Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander.

As well as the swipe at Repco over its ownership, Supercheap has used the back of the car for a message, highlighted by Ingall and Feeney: ‘We still love you Bathurst XOXO’.

“Today is about bringing our team together, sharing our passion for Bathurst and our continued commitment to Australian motorsport,” said Supercheap Auto managing director Benjamin Ward at the unveiling of the racing colours at the company’s Brisbane headquarters today.

“We are proudly Australian owned and the team environment we have built around our long-term commitment to the sport is quite incredible and worth celebrating.”

For Ingall, a long-term Supercheap ambassador, the focus will be on racing as he and Feeney – 57 and 18 – become the oldest-youngster driver combination in the history of the race.

“This whole exercise has been a collaboration from so many people. All of them getting on with the job with a real Australian ‘can do’ attitude,” Ingall said.

“I think the car will be one of the best looking race cars I have ever driven at Bathurst and I cannot wait to see the fans’ reaction.”