DJR Team Penske will play on both its Australian and American heritage at Supercars’ Sandown retro round.
Its Fabian Coulthard/Luke Youlden Ford will run in the blue Sunoco colours that Mark Donohue used to take Penske’s first Indianapolis 500 win in 1972.
Renumbered to #66 or the occasion, the car is being sponsored by Mighty Mite, which returns as a major backer after appearing on both entries at Winton.
“The MightyMite Special is the first time we have used a Team Penske inspired livery here in Australia,” said DJR Team Penske MD Ryan Story.
“It marks a very special point in the history of the team as it was Roger’s first Indy 500 win with a truly legendary driver in Mark Donohue, who to this day remains the team’s winningest driver across multiple disciplines.
“Donohue was a ‘renaissance man’ and it’s a great privilege and honour to celebrate his ’72 victory and Team Penske’s 50th anniversary with this livery.”
The Scott Pye/Tony D’Alberto #17 Ford will meanwhile wear the yellow and white Shell livery that DJR used in the 2003 and 2004 seasons.
Although far from being one of the team’s most successful periods, Steven Johnson and Warren Luff combined to take a third place finish in the 2004 Sandown 500.
“In recent years we have rolled out a number of retro liveries at Bathurst,” Dick Johnson said.
“But there is no doubt that the Shell designs are the ones that really relate to the fans.
“This one was special as Steve and I worked closely with the designers to come up with something quite different.
“We had run the red Shell Sierras and mostly yellow Falcons previously, so the 2003 Shell Helix design was something we wanted to really stand out.
“It will be great to see it out on track again.”
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