RICK Kelly has joked that his Bathurst 1000 rivals "need to be aware they can't rub their tyres down the door anymore" after revealing the special livery his Mustang will carry at Mount Panorama.
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To mark Kelly's 20th start in the Great Race, Castrol and Kelly Racing has involved the fans in a unique celebration via the livery.
While COVID-19 means that fan numbers at this year's Bathurst 1000 will be strictly limited - and no spectators permitted across the top of the Mount - the team has brought the community to the car with over 1000 fan faces covering the #15 Castrol Mustang.
During the month of September, fans submitted their photos and selfies to be included in the special livery by uploading them to social media using the hashtag #RideWithCastrol.
"The other drivers need to be aware they can't rub their tyres down the door anymore because you'll be rubbing people's faces off," Kelly joked.
"My 20th Supercars Bathurst 1000 start has been made even more special by this incredible fan-inspired livery that we've put together. I'm honestly blown away by the support that was shown from all of the fans with this livery, to have around 1000 fans ride with myself and Castrol at the mountain is fantastic and it's a real honour.
"They come from all walks of life, some of them front-line workers doing it tough, others race fans that may be struggling, a lot of them would traditionally be here at the mountain cheering us on, but with the circumstances we know that wasn't possible this year, so we wanted to involve them some how and bring them to the mountain and I think this livery is something we can all be really proud of.
"The cool thing for me was that we included every photo that was submitted, it didn't matter if you're a big supporter of our team or anyone else in pit lane, if you wanted to join us this year and submit your photo then you're on the car.
"There are also some really cool throwback images from back when I was quite new to the sport and a lot of selfies that people have taken with me at the track over the years which is awesome."
The photos include front-line workers who have battled bushfires and COVID this year, track officials, the team's loyal fans, the team's supportive partner network and of course the Kelly Racing crew and their families that have given up so much in order to keep the team on track over the past few months.
Even legends such as Larry Perkins, Russell Ingall, and Greg Murphy have their images featured on the Mustang.
As a thank you to all Kelly Racing staff both travelling and based in Melbourne, a special graphic featuring the name of each team member also adorns the inside of the driver's side door.
Kelly's co-driver Dale Wood, is also honoured to drive a car which carries such a special look.
"Away from the race track my business is actually doing vehicle signage and I've done that for many years and never seen something like this," he said.
"Obviously Rick appears on the car quite a few times so I had to jump on and include a photo of myself on there too, it's going to be a fun game trying to spot where I am on the car.
"I'm really looking forward to driving the car, it's obviously been a long time since I've been able to jump into a race car being based in Melbourne. I've definitely missed that sensation, so to be able to get a taste of it again at Bathurst, co-driving with my best mate, it's going to be a pretty surreal feeling."
