ASTON Martin and Victoria Bitter.
This unlikely combination of iconic brands has been brought together by National Sports Sedan Series racer Mark Duggan ahead of the season-opener at Winton this weekend.
The full-year livery has been inspired by Duggan’s business dealings with Carlton United Breweries, the parent company of VB.
“CUB and my company Duggan Family Hotels have had quite a long association and we’re very excited to be running in Sports Sedans,” Duggan told V8 Sleuth.
“It’s a very iconic category and of course VB is an iconic beer and we run family-orientated hotels so the blend just fitted in well.
“We’re very excited. The National Sports Sedans this year, we have got a great turnout this round.
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“It’s having a resurgence which is great and we’re doing rounds at Bathurst and the Gold Coast with Supercars so that’s great exposure.
“Carlton United Breweries was very excited to be a part of that, and of course we have other sponsors on the car as well.”
Duggan’s involvement in Sports Sedans dates back to the mid-90s.
It was in 2018 that he returned from a decade-plus break from motorsport, purchasing the car/team of multiple champion Kerry Baily.
“It’s a great car and we have been developing it for a couple of years,” said Duggan, who has called on Andre Heimgartner to spend time in the car.
“We have been running engine management programs, shock programs, everything.
“(The engine is) based off a NASCAR. We run what they call a SB2 block which under the regulations we have to.
“So the car is based off a NASCAR engine but we’ve developed our own engine.
“Peter Wallace is our engine builder so the heads are MBE heads from America, it’s all Kinsler manifolds and injectors – they actually flow the manifolds through the heads and through the pistons and everything.
“It’s really a unique design of a six-litre engine.”
Duggan Family Racing will field two cars this season, expanding to include the Scott Cameron-driven Commodore.
