Kelly Racing tested all four of its Holden Commodore V8 Supercars at Winton Motor Raceway in Victoria on Monday in preparation for the upcoming V8 Supercar endurance events.
Drivers and cars consisted of:
Todd Kelly & Dale Wood - #7 Jack Daniel’s Commodore (Chassis KR-01)
Rick Kelly & Owen Kelly - #15 Jack Daniel’s Commodore (Chassis PE048)
Jason Bargwanna & Glenn Seton - #11 Rock Commodore (Chassis PE049)
Tony Ricciardello & Taz Douglas - #16 Stratco Commodore (Chassis PE047)
Kelly Racing will be in action next week for the L&H Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on Septmeber 10-12, followed by the biggest race of the season, the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama on October 7-10.
This season the V8 Supercars season of endurance stretches to a third race for the first time, with the Armor All Gold Coast 600 featuring two drivers per car, with each team drafting in an international superstar for the Surfers Paradise street event held on October 22-44.
Jack Daniel’s Racing will field former IndyCar Series champion and Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon of New Zealand, while Kelly Racing will add Canadian IndyCar ace Alex Tagliani to its ranks.
TODD KELLY - #7 Jack Daniel’s Commodore:
“Today was half a test day and half an endurance preparation day,” said Todd Kelly.
“I've been doing plenty of driver changes and late in the day we did full blown pit stops for the guys to get there brake rotor and pad changes done while the cars are hot.
“Hopefully we should come out of today and have learned a few more things about from our testing items on the cars, as well as being very well prepared for Phillip Island coming up next week.”
DALE WOOD - #7 Jack Daniel’s Commodore:
“It's been a good day in the #7 Jack Daniel’s Commodore,” said Dale Wood.
“The weather has really turned it on for us. The way Melbourne weather is at the moment we can't seem to get a sunny day, so it's been really good to get one here at Winton today.
“It's just really good to blow the cobwebs off after not being in the car for a little while. We did driver change practice and short stints to work on getting up to speed nice and quickly.
“It's good that Todd and I are really happy with everything internally in the car in terms of the seat position and placement of everything.
“It's a good start to our endurance campaign well at this test today.”
RICK KELLY - #15 Jack Daniel’s Commodore:
“The whole team worked really hard today and we put in a lot of work setting things in place for the endurance events,” said Rick Kelly.
“There is a huge amount to organise for these endurance events and it was great that we worked through so much of that today.
“We also worked pretty hard on the speed of our Jack Daniel’s Commodore and both Owen and I were pleased with how our car ran and how we were able to improve as the day went on.
“A good test today and a great effort by our crew guys to achieve so much in one day with four cars. I’m pumped for Phillip Island.”
OWEN KELLY - #15 Jack Daniel’s Commodore:
“It's good to have a drive nice a close to the race and get back in the groove of these types of cars,” said Owen Kelly.
“We’ve practiced some live driver changes and all that sort of pit lane stuff, so it's good to do all that today prior to heading to Phillip Island next week.
“We head there knowing we have prepared well and we're confident of a good showing in the #15 Jack Daniel's car.”
JASON BARGWANNA - #11 Rock Commodore:
“What a fantastic day to get back in the Rock car,” said Jason Bargwanna.
“It's been good having a break but to get back in the car again and really get the juices flowing has made it a really good day.
“Seto is right on the pace and we're looking good for the enduros.
“It's great for the guys as well to get back onto the cars and get their hands on them with the wheel guns and what not. We've been doing a lot of pit stop practice and its all coming together well.
“Everyone has really been enjoying their break but we are all ready to get back into it.”
GLENN SETON - #11 Rock Commodore:
“There is no doubt that you get good miles at the test days in comparison to the co-driver sessions and little appearances like that,” said Glenn Seton.
“It's good to get miles when you have been out of it for a while. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve done the endurance races so every mile you get is worth its weight in gold
“I've done over 40 laps today and I'm pretty comfortable in the car.
“There are a couple of things with the seating position and steering wheel position that we will work on after this test, but only minor adjustments.
“But the balance of the Rock car has been really good and I felt great straight out of the box today.”
TONY RICCIARDELLO - #16 Stratco Commodore:
“It was a good day today,” said Tony Ricciardello.
“We're freshened up after the break and having some good runs today.
“It's great for the Stratco crew to get some good consistent running on track today and hopefully with the changes we have made to the car we have progressed forwards. When we get to Phillip Island we will be ready to go.
“My driving seat has been modified to get Taz in the car and we're both giving and taking for each other, working as a team. It's good to be sharing the Stratco car with him.
“We get along well and we're both working hard to bring home a good result at Phillip Island to start the endurance events.”
TAZ DOUGLAS - #16 Stratco Commodore:
“Today's been quite good for the Stratco car,” said Taz Douglas.
“We had a few things to sort out at the start of the day with the car but we got on top of those reasonably quickly.
“We've been running around on average tyres, everyone is in the same boat, but it's just great to get back in a cra and be in this car with Tony for the endurance events.
“We're making compromises on the seating position bit I feel comfortable in the car and we keep improving that.
“We went around and around today and learned a lot, worked on giving our feedback to improve the car and all in all I think we've done some great work here to be ready for Phillip Island.”
