Mark Winterbottom will this season don a special helmet harking back to the early days of his racing career to celebrate 30 years in motorsport.
Winterbottom, who won the 2013 Bathurst 1000 and 2015 Supercars Championship, will sport a colour scheme almost identical to that of his very first helmet.
The Irwin Racing driver will bring back a striking yellow and purple scheme, reimagined by Sydney designer Trent Rogers of 6Star Custom Paint.
The design holds significance not only for its age but because the original was gifted to him by his late mother June while on a family trip in the USA.
“For 2021 I’m really excited to reveal my 30-year anniversary design with a modern spin on my very first helmet,” said Winterbottom.
“Helmet designs are always a special item for drivers as it’s the only thing we truly own, and my first helmet is one of my proudest possessions that sits in my cabinet at home.
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“I ran this design for a few years in karts. As a karter your pride and joy is your helmet, so to have a paint job that was unique and different at the time was really cool.”
Winterbottom was prolific in domestic karting, winning 10 national championships and 25 state titles.
“Karting for me started out as pure fun and for the love of driving,” said Winterbottom.
“Then it grew in competitiveness to national and international competitions, but you never thought it would lead to a professional career in Supercars.
“Karting teaches you everything you need to know to be a racing driver and that’s when I raced against some of my current Supercar rivals for the first time. It was the best way to kickstart my racing career.
“If I can have half the success in my Supercar helmet as I did in my original karting helmet then we’ll be set for a great year ahead.
“Trent from 6Star Custom Paint did a ridiculously good job with the design and execution. It means a lot to me and I can’t wait to wear it proudly when we go racing this year.”
Winterbottom’s early career saw him face the likes of Jamie Whincup, James Courtney, Will Davison, and Michael Caruso.
This year marks Winterbottom’s third season with Team 18 after signing a two-year extension at the end of 2020 to take him through to the Gen3 era.
Team 18 will have its first hitout of the year at Winton Motor Raceway on February 16 as part of pre-season testing.
The team will be joined there by the Blanchard Racing Team, Erebus Motorsport, Kelly Grove Racing, Tickford Racing, Walkinshaw Andretti United and Brad Jones Racing.
CLICK HERE to watch Winterbottom discuss his helmet’s significance
The season-opening Repco Mount Panorama 500 takes place on February 26-28.
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