RACING TOGETHER FINDS NEW PERMANENT HOME

The innovative and groundbreaking Indigenous Australian motorsport program, Racing Together, has received a major boost after launching its new headquarters last month.

Having originally been based at Norwell Motorplex on the Gold Coast thanks to former Supercars driver Paul Morris, the award-winning program will now call the newly renovated Queensland Raceway in Ipswich its home.

The new headquarters was launched in an official ceremony attended by dignitaries including Motorsport Australia President Andrew Fraser, Federal Member for Blair, Shayne Newman MP and Assistant Minister for Hydrogen Development Lance MacCallum MP. Created in 2020, Racing Together facilitates and encourages young indigenous Australians to get involved in motorsport, where chosen participants build, prepare and race Hyundai Excels in state championship events in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

The popularity and success of the program has seen it grow exponentially since its inauguration and received global recognition last year when it was named as the inaugural FIA President’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award from FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

With larger facilities required due to its substantial growth, Queensland Raceway owner Tony Quinn threw his support behind the program to create a permanent home for it at the circuit.

Racing Together

Founder Garry Connelly was thrilled with the new headquarters and thanked both Quinn and Morris for their support.

“Tony Quinn has been an amazing supporter of Racing Together and thanks to his generosity, we have been able to move into larger facilities than where we were previously,” Connelly said.

“Having a dedicated space to be able to run Racing Together will enable us to take the program to the next level, and provide an environment for our inductees that fully represents a race team working environment.

“A big thank you to Paul Morris and the crew at Norwell for accommodating us since we started a few years ago, and Paul will still be helping with driver training and mentoring the program participants.

“When we launched in 2020, there was virtually no indigenous participation in motorsport, so we’re proud we’ve been able to encourage first nations Australians to become involved in the sport, and four of the inductees from our original intake have already found employment within the sport.”

Racing Together will run at least three Hyundai Excels in the 2023 Motorsport Australia Queensland Circuit Racing Championships, with both Braedyn Cidoni and Karlai Warner confirmed as drivers.

More information on Racing Together can be found at racingtogether.org