The Shell V-Power Racing Team has revealed the livery with which Simona De Silvestro and Kai Allen will contest the Repco Bathurst 1000 as a wildcard duo.
Dick Johnson Racing has added a third Ford Mustang to its programme for the Great Race, which will be emblazoned in something of a reversal of the colours carried by its full-time entries.
Ed Williams has been announced as Race Engineer, making his debut in that role after seven years with the team as a design/performance/data engineer.
The crew behind Car #98, a reference to the octane rating of Shell V-Power Unleaded 98 fuel, will be comprised of a mixture of youth and experience, including Team Manager Mikey Flynn as well as DJR’s Chief Engineer Perry Kapper and Technical Director Mark Fenning.
“It’s wonderful to finally be able to share this livery with the public,” said DJR Chief Executive Officer David Noble.
“It’s a standout design that we’re very proud of and we have no doubt it will look fantastic when it hits the track at Mount Panorama.
“We’ve had a lot of interest in the lead-up to this reveal around what the livery will look like, so we hope our fans agree that it looks spectacular and is going to catch their eye on the track.
“The wildcard programme has also been a great opportunity for us to create development programmes for up-and-coming talent in our engineering and mechanical teams; we look forward to seeing this come to fruition at the Repco Bathurst 1000.
“I’d like to thank our partners Viva Energy Australia, Rheem, Pivotel, WM Waste, Harvey Norman, National Tiles and PPQ for their support of the #98 Shell V-Power Mustang; the countdown to the Repco Bathurst 1000 is well and truly on.”
De Silvestro arrived in Australia in recent days, after the journey from her native Switzerland was postponed due to emergency appendix surgery, and attended the Sandown 500.
Next month’s tilt at Mount Panorama will be her sixth start in the Great Race, after two as a wildcard and three full seasons will Kelly Racing.
Allen, second in the Dunlop Super2 Series standings midway through his rookie season with Eggleston Motorsport, will be making his Repco Supercars Championship debut with DJR.
They will share a ‘personalised numberplate’ on the bumper of Car #98, reading ‘SIM KAI’, as part of the partnership with PPQ.
De Silvestro remarked, “We just saw the car for the first time, and it looks amazing!
“It’s definitely going to stand out, it looks fast and aggressive, which is always a good thing!
“I think it’s going to look great going down Conrod Straight. I can’t wait to hit the track in the #98 Shell V-Power Mustang with Kai.”
Allen added, “It’s super cool to see the #98 Shell V-Power Mustang all stickered up and ready to go; it’s going to stand out!
“I’m sure if we’re fast and put the pressure on it will fill up everyone’s mirrors with lots of yellow.
“I can’t wait to get out to QR [Queensland Raceway] and do some test days in it, then head down to Bathurst with Simona.”
DJR fields an unchanged line-up in its full-time entries, namely Anton De Pasquale/Tony D’Alberto in Car #11 and Will Davison/Alex Davison in Car #17.
De Silvestro/Allen will complete two test days at Queensland Raceway next week, ahead of the Bathurst 1000 from October 5-8.
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