Northern Territory Major Events Company

Superfast Merlin Darwin Triple Crown super successful

21 June 2021 –

The Territory’s fastest Merlin Darwin Triple Crown in history has attracted more than 38,000 attendances as fans flocked to the Hidden Valley Raceway to watch the Supercars, Australian Superbikes, Stadium Super Trucks and more.

The weekend included the biggest Friday ever, with 10,000 people turning up. The second largest Friday crowd on record was 7000 in 2003. Shane van Gisbergen won both Supercars races on Sunday, while Oli Bayliss, aged 17, won the Australian Superbikes round in his first year racing a Superbike.

A lucky few motorsports fans made a memory of a lifetime by going on a hot lap with a Supercars driver or a pillion ride with an Australian Superbikes rider. They included the winners of the Merlin Garage Competition, who enjoyed all the action up close from Garage 33 in Pit Lane.

Other highlights for spectators included the Pit Lane Walk, where they got to meet their motorsports heroes and sneak a look inside the team garages. Meanwhile, Bernard Fanning headlined the Saturday evening concert supported by Ball Park Music and the Territory’s own DRAFTDAY and Phoebe Olivia.

The Merlin Darwin Triple Crown is now the official Indigenous Round of the Supercars championship. An artwork created specifically for the event by Larrakia artist Trent Lee was unveiled at this year’s event.

At the centre of the piece is a snake in the shape of the track at Hidden Valley.

betr Darwin Triple Crown Supercars respectfully acknowledges the past, present and emerging Traditional Owners of the beautiful land on which we live, work and gather. We respect the cultural practices and traditions of our hosts, recognise the importance of sustainably caring for our country, and commit to being respectful visitors to traditional lands.