In what will be its true first public appearance, the ‘Supracar’ will be wheeled onto the MCG following the match and displayed while the medal ceremony takes place.
The move is an early glimpse of the marketing muscle set to be put behind the Supercars project by Toyota, which has been the premier partner of the AFL for over 20 years.
Supercars and the AFL also share broadcast partners in Seven and Fox Sports.
Last year’s Grand Final medal ceremony was watched on Seven by almost 3.5 million people nationally, in addition to the 100,000 strong crowd at the ground.
Supercars CEO James Warburton, who worked with the AFL and Toyota during his recent stint as boss of Seven, hailed the tie-up during the recent reveal of the Supra in Sydney.
“Integrating the Supra into the Finals Series, getting into the MCG, it’s a great association between AFL and Supercars,” said Warburton.
“The ability for us to work collectively with either broadcast partners, Fox Sports and Seven, the association between all the parties working together really gives us opportunities.”
The driving force behind Toyota Australia’s entry into Supercars is its vice president of sales and marketing, Sean Hanley.
It’s hoped that Toyota’s arrival will lift the profile of the Supercars Championship as well as the teams and drivers it has partnered with.
“We’ll take whatever opportunity we can to promote four aspects… Toyota Gazoo Racing, Walkinshaw Andretti United, Brad Jones Racing and of course Supercars,” said Hanley.
“So with all of our properties and everything that we do with the might of the Toyota marketing muscle or juggernaut, it’s a great opportunity.”
WAU’s first Supra returned to the track at Winton this week for more engine testing, while its second completed car has been loaded into a container bound for the United States.
That process ahead of post-season wind tunnel testing at Windshear in North Carolina involved the Supra coming face-to-face with its Ford and Chevrolet rivals for the first time.
Ford will also have a major presence in the AFL Grand Final due to its sponsorship of the Geelong Cats, who are set to play the Brisbane Lions from 2:30pm AEST.
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