RACING TOGETHER CLAIMS BREAKTHROUGH WINS IN DARWIN

MEDIA RELEASE/Racing Together – Photos: supplied

The Indigenous youth motor-racing team Racing Together has broken through for its first win since its foundation four years ago, dominating its class at the betr Darwin Triple Crown Supercars Indigenous Round last weekend.

Sixteen-year-old driver Kade Davey took three wins from three starts in the Hyundai Excel class of the Combined Sedans events at Hidden Valley Raceway. Teammate Karlai Warner, 17, claimed seventh, fifth and sixth places and progressively improved her lap times despite battling illness all weekend.

The results on Racing Together’s third annual visit to the Northern Territory were a major achievement for the team, which was founded in late 2020 to assist Indigenous teenage girls and boys into motorsport careers. Members build, maintain, repair and manage their cars themselves.

The two drivers, both still high school students, were supported by five Indigenous teammates from the team’s Queensland Raceway base and two local Indigenous mechanical students.

Off-track activities during race week drew plenty of attention to Racing Together.

Karlai Warner and Kade Davey visited Casuarina College where they spoke to 40 Indigenous Students of the Stars (girls) and Clontarf (boys) programmes on career opportunities available in motorsport to young Indigenous people. They encouraged the students to continue their studies, emphasising the importance of focussing on STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects.

The pair was interviewed extensively for radio and television news, while another highlight was being presented with new OMP race suits by Triple Eight Team Principal Jamie Wincup and Supercar-winning driver Broc Feeney

The trip north received significant support from the Northern Territory Major Events Company.

Karlai Warner said: “We are hugely grateful to NT Events for assisting us in getting to this amazing event. We not only enjoyed the racing and the atmosphere at the track but also had the opportunity to see some of the spectacular sights of Darwin.”

Kade Davey added: “We also had the opportunity to meet the local competitors and to share our experiences with them. But in addition to my first win in Excels, I was greatly inspired by the enthusiasm of the students we spoke to on Thursday and hope that our success within the team motivates them to seek a career in motorsport.”

Racing Together co-founder Garry Connelly AM congratulated the team on its breakthrough achievement.

“This result was the climax of many, many weekends’ dedicated work by the wonderful Indigenous young people who form Racing Together. My co-founder and wife Monique and I have watched with great pride as these girls and boys have expanded their physical and life skills since joining the program,” he said.

“Supported by professional racing mentors from the Supercars world including Paul Morris, Dr Ryan Storey and Roland Dane, they’re on their way to rewarding careers in motorsport and associated industries.”

The following organisations provide valuable support to Racing Together –

Viva Energy Australia, Supercheap Auto, Toyota Australia, National Storage, Norwell Motorplex, Motorsport Australia, Dick Johnson Racing, Triple Eight Race Engineering, Riedel Communications, Boost Mobile, Slideways Karting, PWR, Gunya Meta.

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