PremiAir Nulon Racing will race at the Gold Coast 500 in support of Bullyproof Australia, the charity co-founded by World Champion boxer and former school teacher, Jeff Horn.
Bullyproof Australia is an Australian registered charity which seeks to protect ‘every student, every teacher, every school, everywhere,’ by focusing on three key areas of support in Australian primary and secondary schools: bullying prevention and management; mental health management and improvement through education and support; and improved academic performance achieved by changing the culture of schools.
Charity Co-Founder Horn visited the PremiAir Nulon Racing workshop on Monday afternoon and with the help of #31 PremiAir Nulon Racing Camaro driver Jimmy Golding, placed the Bullyproof Australia signage on the #31’s lower rear windscreen ahead of this weekend’s event.
Following his workshop tour yesterday, Horn – who established Bullyproof Australia alongside co-founders Glenn Rushton and Frank Mechler and is a former WBO World Welterweight Boxing Champion who achieved a historic victory over 11-time World Champion Manny Pacquiao at Suncorp Stadium in 2017 – will also be in the garage with the team at the Gold Coast 500 this weekend and will venture out on the grid ahead of the start of race 22.
“It is a great gesture from PremiAir Nulon Racing to put the Bullyproof Australia logo on their car – people do pay a lot of money for this kind of advertisement and they are doing it for us for free, so it is absolutely awesome to have this kind of support for a charity doing some great work out there,” Horn said.
“It was pretty nerve-wracking putting the sticker on the car, I didn’t want to stuff it up! They told me they can redo it if it needs it, but it looks pretty straight to me!” he grinned.
“We want to make sure that we can get every kid in this country looked after with this program, and having exposure on a Supercar like this that will be seen nationally is really awesome.
“It has been great chatting with Jimmy today too – to do this sport is like being in a sauna on a unicycle and the concentration and the fitness he has to have to be able to do what he does for a couple of hours at a time is pretty incredible.
“It is awesome that he is in sixth position now in his title but I am sure he is not happy with that, I am sure he wants to be number one and the best out there. I know what it is like to be at the top and I really want to see him up there as well soon.”
Golding said it was great to get Horn’s perspective as he heads into this weekend’s racing.
“It has been pretty incredible having a World Champion here; obviously in our sport we have a lot of drivers around us all the time but it is great to see other elite athletes from other sports and talk about your experiences,” Golding said.
“We have a lot of shared experience – while a lot is different in our sports there are also a lot of similarities in the training and also the environment where we are working a high level and it can be pretty stressful, but we need to stay composed and execute well.
“Supercars and Boxing are definitely high pressure sports and it is very difficult to get to the top level in any sport, so I was happy to take on any advice he had as I look forward to my next races – hopefully we can have a good one this weekend!
“I am definitely proud to be wearing the Bullyproof Australia badge this weekend; it is a fantastic cause and something I am really happy to be a part of and to have on the car – hopefully a lot of people can get behind it.
“Personally, I did experience a bit of bullying when I was in school for racing, which most people are surprised about, but I got through that and stayed focused on what I was doing and managed to get there – I think a lot of those people today probably regret what they did and look at what I am doing now and realise it was all pretty silly.
“It is great to support the cause and get the word out – and Jeff did a pretty good job putting the sticker on the car, it looks good from a distance, just don’t get too close!” he laughed.
To learn more about Bullyproof Australia, visit www.bullyproofaustralia.org.au
The 2024 Gold Coast 500 will be held across October 25-27. For event information, visit www.supercars.com
PremiAir Nulon Racing will carry live race coverage and team updates on its website across the weekend – stay up to date at www.premiairracing.com/track-updates/
For more information on PremiAir Nulon Racing, please visit www.premiairracing.com or follow the team on its social media platforms at www.facebook.com/PremiAirRacing/, www.instagram.com/premiair_racing/, www.linkedin.com/company/premiairracing/ and www.twitter.com/premiairracing