New clothes for Nissan Motorsport duo at Townsville 400
Nissan Motorsport have proven to be an active team when it comes to switching up their Virgin Australia Supercars Championship paint-schemes.
As opposed to the majority of the V8 field, the squad — who first entered the category in a partnership with Kelly Racing in 2013 — have adopted a Nascar-style livery structure that sees them jump from look to look as the season progresses. The idea is that as well as giving them the ability to prettify their cars on a more frequent basis, they can also reap the financial rewards of signing on multiple sponsors over the course of the season for smaller modules of money, instead of trying to locate one big sponsor that can foot an entire season — something that many teams in the paddock are currently finding very difficult to do.
Their latest two liveries for this weekend's Castrol Edge Townsville 400 event, the seventh of the season, see Michael Caruso secure backing from the Melbourne City FC, while Todd Kelly gets a leg-up from boatsales.com.au — sister site to regular backers carsales.com.au.
Render / Tim Pattinson Design
The connection with Melbourne City FC and their quaint shade of the babiest of blues is a particularly interesting one, as it connects to a world deal between Nissan and the recently unveiled 'City FC' umbrella of football clubs; which includes Premiere League side Manchester City FC.
“We are delighted to announce Nissan as the first ever Club Automotive Partner in the A-League. Nissan are, like us, committed to sustainability and innovation and that translate in a very real way to benefits for Melbourne City fans," said Melbourne City FC CEO Scott Munn.
“This partnership will see a range of promotions and activities that bring fans closer to Melbourne City and to Nissan. By support for both the men’s and the women’s team, Nissan is demonstrating a real and deep commitment to, and passion for, football.”
After snatching his second career race win in the Supercars Championship in Darwin, Caruso is seventh in the points standings, while Todd Kelly is 13th. Fellow Nissan pilots Rick Kelly and Dale Wood are ninth and 23rd in the points respectively.