Matt Stone Racing has become the latest Supercars team to show off the Indigenous Round livery it will feature this weekend at the Merlin Darwin Triple Crown.
Indigenous artwork has been incorporated into the Truck Assist liveries for Jack Le Brocq’s #34 and Todd Hazelwood’s #35, with Trent Bundirrik Lee the mastermind behind the design.
Lee hails from the local Larrakia region and has recently collaborated with MSR’s fellow Gold Coast-based sporting team, the Gold Coast Suns AFL club.
“Obviously being a part of any sort of team, even if it is just providing the artwork is a very proud moment for myself,” he said.
“I used to go to the V8 Supercars when they first came to Darwin so to see my artwork going around the track this weekend will be another very proud moment.”
For his part, MSR commercial director Al Bye said: “It’s been an absolute pleasure and an honour working with Trent on the design of the Truck Assist Racing cars for this week’s Merlin Darwin Triple Crown event.
“He embraced the colours of our race team whilst keeping his artwork authentic to the Larrakia nation which was really cool to be a part of.
“Right now, in Darwin we can see the Kapok tree in flower and just as they represent the change in season, Darwin also represents a pivotal part of our season too, so I really connected with this artwork.”
Just three teams are yet to release their Indigenous Round liveries: Tickford Racing, Walkinshaw Andretti United, and Erebus Motorsport.
The meaning behind Trent Bundirrik Lee’s artwork:
The artwork, designed by local Larrakia artist Trent Bundirrik Lee, shares the story of the Kapok tree which signs a change in season.
When coming up with the design, Trent said he really took into consideration the time of year that the Supercars Championship are visiting Darwin and the season in which we are entering.
The design features a pod casing opening with a white cotton like material that surrounds the seeds. This is replicated with the pod like shapes and a blue dot which symbolises the fluffy material.
For the traditional owners of the Darwin region and Larrakia land, this is an important time of year as the flower on the tree is eatable and the tree itself also has many uses for their people.
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