Thousands flock to Top End for 2022 Merlin Darwin Triple Crown

The 2022 Merlin Darwin Triple Crown has wrapped up for another year, with an incredible 40,448 attendances recorded from 17-19 June.

Motorsports fans flocked to Darwin from all corners of Australia, for what was the inaugural Supercars Indigenous Round. Celebrating our First Nations people, the round also pays homage to the Larrakia people whose land the event takes place on.

As part of the Indigenous Round, the Supercars were wrapped in Indigenous liveries and several Australian Superbike teams featured Aboriginal artwork in their motorcycle decals or suits and helmets.

Larrakia artist Trent Lee, who designed the official Indigenous Round artwork, also recreated the Darwin Triple Crown trophy as a traditional shield. Local artists ‘Duwun’ Lee, Les Huddleston and Josef Petterson also helped Trent create a series of didgeridoos used for other awards. The Australian Superbike trophies also feature Trent’s artwork and he designed the artwork on the officials’ and volunteers’ shirts.

With more motorsport than ever before, fans lapped up plenty of on-track action including Supercars, Australian Superbikes, S5000, Porsche Paynter Dixon Carerra Cup and Combined Sedans.

This year’s Merlin Darwin Triple Crown also hosted the grand finale of Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship in 2022, which saw some of the fastest competitors reaching speeds of more than 500km/h.

The action on track was red-hot all weekend, with Chaz Mostert taking out first place in the Supercars category, Mike Jones winning the Australian Superbikes category and Peter Xiberras of the PremiAir Racing Team claiming top place in the Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship.

Winning Supercars driver Chaz Mostert said the battle with driver Anton De Pasquale got “really heated” in the last couple of laps.

“I think anytime you win is fantastic, so we’re pretty happy as a team today. All focus now is on Townsville – we’ll see how we go,” he said.

Winning Australian Superbikes rider Mike Jones thanked his team for doing a “fantastic job” in helping prepare his bike for the 2022 Merlin Darwin Triple Crown.

“Overall first for the weekend and extending our championship lead is very important for us leaving here this weekend,” he said.

Younger fans were also well looked after at the 2022 event with a whole off-track program dedicated to families. Kids made the most of fun activities such as laser tag, arcade games, Mini Moto, face painting, arts and craft, an obstacle course, circus area and much more.
Spectators were also treated to numerous live music performances, including the iconic Chunky Custard who presented their ever-popular 70s and beyond show.

Other highlights for spectators included the Pit Lane Walk, where fans got to meet their favourite Supercars drivers, have merchandise signed and see the garages up close.

Supercars CEO Shane Howard said the Northern Territory Government and NT Major Events Company did such a great job with venue for the 2022 Merlin Darwin Triple Crown.

“They welcome us, the community welcomes us and we like giving back to the Indigenous community,” he said.

The Merlin Darwin Triple Crown will return to the Top End next year, with dates to be announced later this year.

To keep up to date with the latest news, head to www.darwinsupercars.com.au and follow the Merlin Darwin Triple Crown on Facebook and Instagram.