The second and final V8 Supercar race at Hidden Valley Raceway, Darwin, proved to be a tough encounter for Jack Daniel's Racing, with drivers Rick Kelly starting 15th and brother Todd 23rd.
Rick’s race was nearly over at the first corner of the race as he was a victim of a multi-vehicle incident that punctured his right front tyre and forced him off the track.
Initially it was thought the steering had also been bent, but when he arrived in the garage, it proved to be only a puncture. Rick rejoined the race two-laps down and posted very impressive lap times.
He and brother Todd, in the sister Jack Daniel's car were two of only five drivers to lap the circuit under 1 minute 11 seconds.
The Jack Daniel's Commodore showed strong pace for the rest of the race and despite the disappointment of finishing 23rd in the 28-car field, his speed augurs well for the next round in Townsville.
Todd Kelly missed the first-corner carnage but didn’t enjoy a trouble free run, as his cool suit (worn under the race suit to keep the driver cool) sprung a leak and from lap 10 he had to battle fatigue due to the stifling heat of the cabin.
Despite the heat and discomfort, Todd drove a solid race to finish 14th and showed good speed throughout the 200km race.
Qualifying
The Jack Daniel's Racing Team had a challenging qualifying run earlier in the day as the V8 Supercars took to the track for a single 20 minute qualifying session to determine the starting grid for the 69-lap race.
After posting a time early in the session, Rick’s #15 Jack Daniel's car received some minor set up tweaks while Todd was happy with his identical #7 Jack Daniel's car and required no changes.
As was the case yesterday, with only minutes left, all drivers took to the track for one final attempt at pole position. While Todd completed two flying laps, Rick was delayed by a flat battery and was only able to post one lap. Both drivers were caught in traffic, with Todd finishing 23rd fastest and Rick 15th.
Jack Daniel's Racing Car #7 Todd Kelly –
“It was a tough one for sure, and a bad one for Rick with a DNF, and I was the only one that went okay in the points. The cool suit sprung a leak at the start of the second and longest race and it was a real old battle just to get to the end”.
Jack Daniel's Racing Car #15, Rick Kelly –
“It’s been a very tough weekend for me with a DNF in one race and a 23rd place two-laps down in the second because of someone else’s problems. But despite this, we have found some glimpses of speed with a lot of new parts and have found a lot of good things that’s for sure”.
2012 V8 Supercars Championship after 13 of 29 races
1. Jamie Whincup 1494 points
2. Will Davison 1456
3. Mark Winterbottom 1445
4. Craig Lowndes 1247
5. Shane van Gisbergen 1145
6. Lee Holdsworth 1079
7. Tim Slade 1059
8. Garth Tander 990
9. Fabian Coulthard 910
10. Jason Bright 804
11. Todd Kelly 783
15. Rick Kelly 709
V8 Supercars: Race 13 Results
1. #888 Craig Lowndes 65 Laps
2. #1 Jamie Whincup
3. #5 Mark Winterbottom
4. #34 Michael Caruso
5. #14 Fabian Coulthard
6. #6 Will Davison
7. #9 Shane van Gisbergen
8. #55 David Reynolds
9. #2 Garth Tander
10. #47 Tim Slade
14. #7 Todd Kelly 1:09.2290
23. #15 Rick Kelly 1:09.4193
Qualifying Race 13 of 29 races
1. #6 Will Davison 1:08.5004
2. #5 Mark Winterbottom 1:08.6685
3. #55 David Reynolds 1:08.8454
4. #1 Jamie Whincup 1:08.8620
5. #34 Michael Caruso 1:08.9841
6. #888 Craig Lowndes 1:09.0273
7. #19 Jonathan Webb 1:09.0668
8. #14 Fabian Coulthard 1:09.0931
9. #8 Jason Bright 1:09.1243
10. #91 Michael Patrizi 1:09.1793
15. #15 Rick Kelly 1:09.2290
23. #7 Todd Kelly 1:09.4193
