Seeley International might be well- known for its heating and air-conditioning in homes and businesses around the globe, but this year the iconic brand has a presence at what is regarded as the toughest street circuit in Australia – the Clipsal 500.
Seeley International founder and Executive Chairman, Mr Frank Seeley AM said the air-conditioning and heating manufacturer was proud to support the debut V8 Ute entry driven by 54-year old Graham ‘Lightning’ Stewart.
“As a South Australian success story, Seeley International is always keen to give back where it can, and when the opportunity came up to support and be associated with a fellow South Australian in this weekend’s V8 ute races as part of the Clipsal 500, we jumped at the chance,” Mr Seeley said.
“The Clipsal 500 is an outstanding event for South Australia, and the V8 utes in particular are motor racing in its most raw form – with lots of thrill and spills to keep things interesting,” he said.
“While we wish could have installed one of our award-winning air-conditioners into the back of the Seeley International Ute, we hope that Lightning Stewart can still keep his cool, strike when the time is right, and keep avoiding the crashes that were seen during the qualifying round yesterday.”
Mr Stewart, who earned his nickname from his love of the leading character, Lightning McQueen, in the animated movie Cars, said he was pleased to welcome the support from such a trusted and well-known brand as Seeley International.
“This is my first drive in V8 utes, so to not get caught up in the crashes during qualifying and achieve a position of 30 out of 32 in my debut drive is an excellent result – especially seeing that the decision to enter the competition was actually made only a week and half ago,” he said.
“It is great to start in the top 30, and I’m looking forward to the first race today and finishing in the top 20 and then aim for a top 15 finish by Sunday.”
Team Principal of Williams Racing, Mr Wayne Williams, said a crash involving two other V8 competitors would see the Seeley International Ute entry start in 28th position in today’s race at 2.45pm.
“Pulling together a racing team is hard work, so it is fantastic to have a business like Seeley International get behind us, and we look forward to celebrating a great weekend of racing that will hopefully have the Seeley International Ute driven by Lightning achieve a top 20 finish on his debut drive,” Mr Williams said.
While Lightning Stewart may have only raced at the Clipsal 500 track once before, he is no stranger to motor racing – competing in sprint cars at Virginia speedway and racing a 1972 Torana XU1 in the South Australian Historic Touring Car Championships at Mallala Raceway.
The Seeley International Ute is also supported by a host of other companies including Bob Jane T-Marts and the Injury Law group.