Rugby league and motor racing made for a potent cocktail when Vodafone Warriors players and V8 Supercars drivers Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes went to head-to-head at Mount Smart Stadium on Wednesday.
The mutual connection was Red Bull, which sponsors both the Vodafone Warriors and Red Bull Racing Australia drivers Whincup and Lowndes.
So Red Bull staged a promotion bringing together the heady mix both sports possess, although Whincup and Lowndes were rather exposed and powerless standing alone rather than sitting behind the wheel of their familiar weapons.
The event was set up ahead of special commitments the Vodafone Warriors and Whincup and Lowndes have on Anzac Day.
For the Red Bull Racing Australia team all eyes will on the ITM 500 leg of the V8 Supercars series at Pukekohe Raceway tomorrow and across the weekend.
MUMS GO FREE! Vodafone Warriors v Raiders, Sat 10 May at Eden Park
While they’re tearing it up around one of the quickest tracks on the circuit the Vodafone Warriors will be preparing for their traditional Anzac Day NRL encounter with the Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park (6.00pm kick-off local time; 8.00pm NZT).
On Wednesday, Whincup and Lowndes were taken out of their comfort zone inside their machines and given a taste of some rugby league skills.
Whincup and Lowndes were both born in Melbourne and share a keen interest in the NRL.
Whincup’s a professed Melbourne Storm fan while Lowndes supports the Brisbane Broncos.
On Thursday they were given a taste of running a backline move, taking bombs on both attack and defence and having a crack at field goals under pressure.
Their instructors were Vodafone Warriors Sam Tomkins, Shaun Johnson, Nathan Friend, Ngani Laumape and Charlie Gubb. After the training session Whincup and Lowndes were both given a Vodafone Warriors jersey while the Tomkins, Johnson, Friend, Laumape and Gubb received Red Bull racing shirts.
