Kelly Racing
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| Manufacturer | Holden |
|---|---|
| Team Principal | John and Margaret Kelly |
| Team Manager | Matthew House (#7 and #15) Barry Ryan (#16 and #51) |
| Race Drivers | 7. Todd Kelly 11. Karl Reindler 15. Rick Kelly 51. Greg Murphy |
| Chassis | VE Commodore |
| Debut | 2009 |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Round wins | 3 |
| Pole positions | 4 |
| 2011 position | JDR: 5th (3832 pts) KR: 7th (3156 pts) |
Kelly Racing is a team competing in the Australian V8 Supercar series. It is owned by John and Margaret Kelly, and made its debut in 2009. The team's current four drivers are 2006 V8 Supercar series champion Rick Kelly and 2005 Bathurst 1000 winner Todd Kelly (John and Margaret's sons), four time Bathurst 1000 winner Greg Murphy and West Australian driver Karl Reindler.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Introduction
Despite some initial hurdles,[1] the team was formed in 2009, launching officially on the evening of 2 March 2009,[2] after several months of preparation. The two sons of the owners, Rick and Todd act as lead drivers for 2009, with sponsorship from Jack Daniel's. Jack Perkins, with sponsorship from Dodo Internet, and Dale Wood (though later replaced by Mark McNally), with sponsorship from Hi-Tec Oils and Red Rooster, were confirmed as drivers of the third and fourth Kelly Racing entries.
[edit] Formation
After a troubled relationship with Tom Walkinshaw, with whom they formed the HSV Dealer Team, team principals John and Margaret Kelly took their two V8 Supercar team licences - numbers #15 and #16 - to set up Kelly Racing, forcing Walkinshaw to find other licences to run his second team in the championship.
With a decision by Holden to reduce support for most teams running their Commodore product in the series for 2009,[3] along with the impending economic crisis,[4] racing legend Larry Perkins chose to scale back his involvement in the sport through his Perkins Engineering team at the end of 2008. His two team licences - numbers #7 and #11 - will be used by Kelly Racing to form a four-car team. Ironically, through the effective merger of the Perkins Engineering team and the new Kelly Racing, Perkins indirectly maintained support from Holden through the new arrangements.
The Kelly's and Perkins swapped one of their racing numbers between themselves so that the Kelly owned licences could make use of the #7 racing number, to suit major sponsor Jack Daniel's and their "Old Number 7" brand. This sponsorship had been carried over from Perkins Engineering, where Todd Kelly was previously using the #7 racing number on behalf of Jack Daniels. This is similar to the relationship that NASCAR team, Richard Childress Racing has with Jack Daniels, and their car driven by Casey Mears, which uses racing number #07.
[edit] 2009
The new team had its track debut at Winton Raceway on 3 March 2009, running the allowed 20-lap shakedown test for newly constructed cars in the V8 Supercar category,[2] which was declared a success by both Todd and Rick. Following this initial shakedown, the team appeared at the official category test day at the same circuit on 9 March 2009, where all four cars appeared.[5][6] At the test day, with the sponsorship of the Dale Wood car still to be confirmed, the #16 car ran an interim testing livery, thanking the team for getting all four cars ready for the season in two months.
The team's first race was the 2009 Clipsal 500, held from March 19–22. The two Kelly brothers finished in the top ten in the first race,[7] Todd in 7th and Rick in 10th, after starting 24th and 17th respectively.[8] Wood, who did not set a qualifying time after a crash in practice, finished 14th after starting from pitlane. Perkins failed to finish due to badly damaged steering caused by brushing the wall. Rick was the only one of the four drivers to finish the second race, again in 10th place.[9] Todd Kelly and Jack Perkins both inflicted steering damage from contact with other cars while Dale Wood spun into the wall. The team left the weekend with Rick Kelly 8th in the championship standings, Todd Kelly in 16th, Dale Wood in 24th and Jack Perkins in 30th.[10] Todd made the following comment on the team's first weekend: "Getting an event under our belt, we've now got pages and pages of things we need to address and improve on. This is our first race as a brand new team so given that, I think the weekend wasn't too bad."
Todd and Rick achieved numerous top ten results as the season went on, the best being Rick's 4th places at Winton and Hidden Valley, while Perkins and Wood struggled. Wood was replaced by Mark McNally from the Townsville round onwards. Former World Superbike champion Troy Bayliss tested with the team in August[11] but nothing came of this, with Bayliss driving with Dean Fiore and Triple F Racing in the endurance races.
Todd and Rick teamed up in the #7 car for the endurances races at Phillip Island and Bathurst with Nathan Pretty and Ben Collins driving the #15 car. Dale Wood returned to the driving seat to partner Jack Perkins in the #11 car while Tony Ricciardello joined Mark McNally in the #16 car. The Kelly brothers finished fifth in the L&H 500 after Todd won one of the qualifying races.[12] Bet 24/7 came onboard as major sponsor for the #11 car before Bathurst, with Perkins and Wood running #247 for the Bathurst weekend. Todd and Rick Kelly were running in second place with only a handful of laps to go in the Bathurst 1000, but a damaged rear wing and a late safety car led to the brothers finishing in eighth place.[13]
Perkins reverted to #11 of the remainder of the season. The team scored its first podium finish at the The Island 300, which turned out to be the first in a hat-trick of podiums for the team, with Rick finishing third and second at Phillip Island and Todd finishing second in race one at Barbagallo. The final championship standings saw Rick Kelly finish in eighth, Todd Kelly in 18th, Jack Perkins in 26th, Dale Wood in 29th and Mark McNally in 30th. Jack Daniel's Racing (#7 and #15) finished sixth in teams' championship with Kelly Racing (#11 and #16) in 13th and last of the two car teams.
[edit] 2010
On 23 November 2009, it was announced that Jason Bargwanna would be joining the team for the 2010 season with sponsorship from Rock Energy Drinks. Bargwanna was previously with Tasman Motorsport, a team which had just announced that it would close at the end of the 2009 season.[14] Tony Ricciardello would take over the #16 car, first with Supermaxx sponsorship before Stratco became the major sponsor for the #16 car. Todd and Rick Kelly continued driving cars #7 and #15 with Jack Daniel's Sponsorship.
Rick took the team's first pole position at Winton but did not manage a win. Only one podium result came out of 2010, Rick finishing third in the rain-affected first race of the Sydney 500.
For the endurance races, Rick and Todd were not allowed to pair up due to new regulations regarding endurance co-drivers. Owen Kelly, of no relation to the two brothers, would join Rick in the #15 car while Dale Wood drove with Todd. Ricciardello was partnered by Taz Douglas while two-time Australian touring car champion Glenn Seton partnered Bargwanna. Rick and Owen had a strong run at the L&H 500, finishing fourth after needing to conserve fuel at the end of the race, while the other three cars all finished outside the top fifteen. The team had a disappointing Bathurst, with none of the cars finishing in the top ten, the best result 16th place for Rick and Owen.
The team hired Scott Dixon and Alex Tagliani as its international drivers for the Gold Coast 600, Dixon driving with Todd Kelly and Tagliani with Bargwanna. Owen Kelly remained with Rick and Wood moved into the #16 car with Ricciardello. It proved to be another average weekend, with Rick and Owen again providing the best result, a sixth place in race two.
The final championship standings saw Rick and Todd repeat their 2009 efforts, finishing eighth and 18th respectively. Bargwanna ended up 24th and Ricciardello was 26th. Jack Daniel's Racing was fifth in the teams' championship and Kelly Racing was 11th.
[edit] 2011
The Jack Daniel's Racing drivers remained the same for 2011, but two new drivers were hired for Kelly Racing. Greg Murphy slotted into the #11 car, the first time he hadn't used the #51 since 2000, with Pepsi Max backing.[15] and David Reynolds drove the #16 car with continued sponsorship from Stratco after missing out on a full time drive in 2010.[16]
2011 has been the team's most successful season to date. Rick Kelly scored the team's first race win in wet conditions at the Hamilton 400.[17] Todd made it an extra special day by finishing in third place despite having a broken windscreen wiper. After 18 races, Rick sits fourth in the points standing with two race wins and a pole position and each of the four drivers has scored a top six race result. Reynolds has impressed on his return to V8 Supercars, with numerous top ten qualifying efforts and two top five race results.
For the endurance races, the team has signed David Russell, Allan Simonsen, Owen Kelly and Tim Blanchard to drive with Todd, Murphy, Rick and Reynolds respectively at the L&H 500 and the Bathurst 1000. For the Gold Coast 600, the team has signed Richard Westbrook, Oliver Gavin, Jörg Bergmeister and Alex Tagliani.
[edit] Team Structure
Todd and Rick Kelly race under the Jack Daniel's Racing banner as one half of the Kelly Racing outfit, driving cars #7 and #15.[2] The Jack Daniel's sponsorship moved across to the team from Perkins Engineering, the team that Todd drove for in 2008. Todd and Rick Kelly have driven the Jack Daniel's cars in all years that Kelly Racing has been competing in the championship.
The second half of the four-car Kelly Racing outfit uses the Kelly Racing name and has been less successful than the other half of the team. Jack Perkins and Dale Wood were the original drivers for the team in 2009, racing cars #11 and #16 respectively, with backing from Dodo and Hi-Tec Oils. Wood was replaced by Mark McNally during the season. For 2010, Jason Bargwanna drove car #11 with backing from Rock Energy Drinks and Tony Ricciardello drove car #16 with Stratco sponsorship. Greg Murphy and Pepsi Max replaced Bargwanna and Rock Energy for 2011 while David Reynolds drove the #16 car with continued backing from Stratco.
[edit] Management
Joe Bremner, formerly the team manager of Jack Daniel's Racing in its Perkins Engineering guise, has been named as the team manager of the Jack Daniel's Racing half of the combined Kelly Racing team,[18] while Barry Ryan has been named as the engineer of the #7, with David Swenson filling the same role on the #15 car.[19] Bremner has gone on record as saying he believes the team can win within its first year.[20]
Matthew House has been named as the team manager of the Dodo Racing / Hi-Tec Oils Racing half of the combined Kelly Racing team,[21] and while Barry Jones was initially named as the engineer of the #11 car,[22] he was later replaced with Mike Gennery, and later still by James Small. Oscar Fiorinotto was named as the engineer of the #16 car.[22]
Later still, following the resignation of Joe Bremner to pursue other interests, a management restructure took place, including further changes to engineering positions. Matthew House moved from the team manager position for the #11 and #16 cars, to take over the role previously filled by Bremner for the #7 and #15 cars. James Small, who had recently taken up the position of engineer for the #11 car, moved across to take over the engineering role on Todd Kelly's #7 car, with the previous engineer of this car, Barry Ryan, taking over the team manager role for the #11 and #16 cars, vacated by House. The new engineer for the #11 car was named as Stewart McDonald,[23] who joined the team from Tasman Motorsport, which had announced it was shutting down operations at the end of 2009.[14]
On 9 February 2012, it was announced the team will switch to the Nissan brand in 2013 under the V8 Supercar Car of the Future rules. The exact model of Nissan to be used in the series is yet to be announced.[24]
[edit] Perkins Engineering
Perkins Engineering, having wound back its own involvement as a competing team in the championship at the end of 2008, maintains a presence by becoming the major engineering facility for the team. The two V8 Supercar franchises owned by Larry Perkins in turn formed the second half of the Kelly Racing team. Perkins Engineering will be responsible for heavy engineering work, particularly in the construction of racing chassis for the team.
[edit] Driver Roll Call
[edit] Full Time Drivers
The following drivers have been full time drivers for Kelly Racing:
- Todd Kelly - 2009 till present
- Rick Kelly - 2009 till present
- Greg Murphy - 2011 till present
- Karl Reindler - 2012 till present
- David Reynolds - 2011
- Jason Bargwanna - 2010
- Tony Ricciardello - 2010
- Jack Perkins - 2009
- Dale Wood - 2009
- Mark McNally - 2009
[edit] External links
[edit] Team Information
[edit] References
- ^ "Kelly Racing is far from a done deal". V8 Supercars Australia. 2008-11-23. http://www.v8supercars.com.au/content/hero_news/november_08/kelly_racing_is_far_from_a_done_deal/. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
- ^ a b c "Jack Daniel's teams up with Kelly Racing". Holden Motorsport. 2009-03-02. http://www.holdenmotorsport.com/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=67098. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
- ^ "Holden re-allocates V8 Supercar funding". V8 Supercars Australia. 2009-01-21. http://www.v8supercars.com.au/content/hero_news/january09/holden_re-allocates_v8_supercar_funding/. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
- ^ "LP to take back seat?". V8 Supercars Australia. 2008-11-23. http://www.v8supercars.com.au/content/hero_news/november_08/lp_to_take_back_seat/. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
- ^ "2009 V8 Supercar Official Test Day - Victoria - Session One Results". Natsoft. 2009-03-09. http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?09/03/2009.WIN.P1. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
- ^ "2009 V8 Supercar Official Test Day - Victoria - Session Two Results". Natsoft. 2009-03-09. http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?09/03/2009.WIN.P2. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
- ^ "2009 Clipsal 500 - Race One Saturday Results". Natsoft. 2009-03-21. http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?22/03/2009.ADEL.R12.
- ^ "2009 Clipsal 500 - Combined Qualifying and Top Ten Shootout Results". Natsoft. 2009-03-20. http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?22/03/2009.ADEL.Q9.Y. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
- ^ "2009 Clipsal 500 - Race Two Sunday Results". Natsoft. 2009-03-22. http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?22/03/2009.ADEL.R20.
- ^ "2009 Championship Standings after Clipsal 500". Natsoft. 2009-03-22. http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?22/03/2009.ADEL.V8S.M. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
- ^ "Bayliss for this year’s enduros?". V8 Supercars Australia. 2009-08-12. http://www.v8supercars.com.au/content/hero_news/august_2009/bayliss_for_this_years_enduros/. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
- ^ "2009 Phillip Island 500 - Official Results". Natsoft. 2009-09-13. http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?13/09/2009.PHIL.R11. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
- ^ "2009 Bathurst 1000 - Official Results". Natsoft. 2009-10-11. http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?11/10/2009.MOUN.R11. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
- ^ a b "Tasman Quits V8 Racing". Tasman / Sprint Gas Racing. 2009-11-20. http://sprintgasracing.com.au/default.aspx?s=news_display&id=887. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
- ^ "Murphy And Pepsi Join Forces At Kelly Racing". BigPond Sport. 2011-01-27. http://www.v8supercars.com.au/murphy-and-pepsi-join-forces-at-kelly-racing/tabid/70/newsid/10880/default.aspx.
- ^ "Young gun Reynolds to return as a full-time V8 Supercars driver in 2011 with Kelly Racing". Fox Sports. 2010-12-09. http://www.foxsports.com.au/motor-sports/young-gun-reynolds-to-return-as-a-full-time-v8-supercars-driver-in-2011-with-kelly-racing/story-e6frf3z3-1225968290016. Retrieved 2011-08-27.
- ^ "Rick Kelly Wins Thrilling Hamilton Opener". BigPond Sport. 2011-04-16. http://www.v8supercars.com.au/newsarticle/rick-kelly-wins-thrilling-hamilton-opener/tabid/70/newsid/11151/default.aspx.
- ^ "Jack Daniel's Racing Team Profile". V8 Supercars Australia. http://www.v8supercars.com.au/teams/teamdetails.asp?ind=&tid=154. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
- ^ "Kelly brothers excited for Clipsal 500". V8 Supercars Australia. 2009-03-17. http://www.v8supercars.com.au/news/latestnews/newsdisplay.asp?gid=32695475&ind=M. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
- ^ "Kelly Racing can win in 09". V8 Supercars Australia. 2009-03-21. http://www.v8supercars.com.au/content/hero_news/march09/kelly_racing_can_win_in_09/. Retrieved 2009-03-21.
- ^ "Kelly Racing Team Profile". V8 Supercars Australia. http://www.v8supercars.com.au/teams/teamdetails.asp?ind=&tid=65. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
- ^ a b "Kelly Racing on debut". V8 Supercars Australia. 2009-03-17. http://www.v8supercars.com.au/news/latestnews/newsdisplay.asp?gid=32695476&ind=M. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
- ^ "Pay Off For Perkins". V8 Supercars Australia. 2009-11-21. http://www.v8supercars.com.au/content/hero_news/november_2009/pay_off_for_perkins/. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
- ^ "Nissan To Join V8 Supercars Championship". 2012-02-09. http://www.v8supercars.com.au/championship/newsarticle/official-nissan-to-join-v8-supercars-championship/tabid/70/newsid/12124/default.aspx.
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