Mark ‘the Shark’ Mariani and Mariani Motorsports will be at the 2016 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne this weekend giving racegoers a taste of Top Fuel nitro!

At the invite of Brett Hore and A.D.R.P, Mariani Motorsports will be joined by Jason Maggs, Matt Forbes, Mick Donohue, Monique Ambruosi and Maurice Allen to show everyone what Drag Racing is all about; “Family, friends, really, really fast cars and really, really loud cars,” says Mariani.

“It was an opportunity to not be missed, to be able to showcase this sport we all love in front of an international crowd of over 350,000 spectators and the huge social media and TV outlets would be the best thing for our sport of drag racing at the moment. 

“Plus it is sure to be a heap of fun, I love firing the car up in front of huge crowds and giving the throttle a wack or two. I am getting chills of anticipation while thinking about it.” 

Mark and his wife Natalie decided to get a skeleton crew together to help along with his Mum and Dad and Mariani Motorsports Program Manager Bruce Mott and his partner Allison. 

“From the moment we decided to go ahead with this it was full on non stop the whole time. It has been about a month now and we have secured some great sponsors to help us showcase not only Drag Racing but the Mariani Motorsports Top Fuel Drag Racing Team and even more importantly to raise awareness for Make-A-Wish Australia, which is always at the forefront of everything we do.” 

The sponsors and support have come Margaret Friend of Select Insurance Brokers – a long time supporter of the team and someone who continues to be a part of the family. The team was also able to source a fully fuelled prime mover, gratefully supplied by Joe and John Scarcella. Mariani Motorsports’ truck driver Robert Vartulli has donated his time to drive the rig to Melbourne and back again. 

Of the new sponsors SportsCover is an Australian Insurance Company who have had not been involved with motorsports before. The Republik is an exclusive group of young professionals looking to supercharge their careers by expanding their network and getting an insight to the success of some of the world’s best young entrepreneurs and corporate titans. Culture Map is a new brand of talent recruiter who are the emerging leader in recruitment solutions for the professional services. And SportsBC is a new motorsports marketing company formed by Bruce Mott. 

“I would like to humbly and sincerely thank all of these generous people for firstly supporting our team and Make-A-Wish Australia and having the faith in us to show that we can showcase their companies to the fullest extent at the Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne. From the whole Mariani Motorsports team, we thank you! Also to Brett and Nicole Hore for the huge hours and effort they have put into this to make it all happen, I look forward to meeting you both in person in a couple of days. 

“We are now at the 11th hour with the pre-stage lights on. Truck and trailer left the shed at 3am Tuesday morning and should have arrived in Melbourne by lunch time with the rest of the team to follow with flights out of Sydney on Thursday morning to go and set up for the show. 

“We are so looking forward to simply promote the raw power of the sport. We made a conscious decision to leave governing bodies and race tracks out of the display as this is all about the passionate people and their fantastic vehicles bringing their love for the sport out to the public who may not even know we exist. 

“Stay tuned to social media as we will be posting all over the weekend through our Facebook and Twitter accounts. You will find all information about our team at our website www.marianimotorsports.com.au. Live streaming of the fire ups can be seen via the Periscope App.

“Looking forward to an exciting, safe and prosperous weekend.” 

Follow Mariani Motorsports at www.facebook.com/MarkMarianiRacing, @Mariani_TF_Aust on Twitter, and @mariani_motorsports on Instagram

Image credit: MarianiMotorsports.com.au