2004 HRT Colour Scheme Breaks Cover!
20/2/2004 14:45 (Press Release) -
At this morning's Australian Motor Sport Show in Melbourne, the Holden
Racing Team's Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly rolled back a red car cover to reveal the striking colour scheme that will be seen on the Team's two VY Holden Commodores in this year's V8 Supercar Series.
To carry the competition numbers #2 (Skaife) and #22 (Kelly) the '04 HRT Commodores see the inclusion of a third colour element, with black highlighting the usual red-with-white theme. Created by Holden Design's Justin Thompson, the theme adds visual aggression and strengthens the on-track presence of the car.
"It's important to have a new look for the HRT Commodores each year that is fresh, that reinforces the Holden brand and makes a strong on track statement during the V8 Supercar season." Said Thompson.
Another styling point is the switch from HRT's traditional white O.Z. race wheels to a "chrome shadow" - styled from the HSV premium wheel range - and developed in conjunction with the Team's Autocolour partner PPG.
While the 2004 season livery is set to make a visual impact, it is on track that the Holden Racing Team is aiming to make a bigger impact! After 6 Championship titles in 7 years - 5 of those in succession - last year's V8 Supercar Series resulted in a 3rd (Skaife) and 8th (Kelly) finish and the Team is working at 100% plus to reclaim its crown this season.
The technical and ownership dramas of 2003 have been well documented but they are well and truly behind the Team, with a settled crew and a good understanding of the VY Commodore now set to take HRT forward in the year ahead.
"It was a pretty difficult year all things considered but as a group, I think we learnt a lot and grew out of the dramas we faced," Mark Skaife said. "The crew and I are well rested; the cars are sorted and ready to go so, we have a lot to look forward to.
"Obviously the developments of 2003 resulted in an increase in my workload, however the break has given me the opportunity to restructure some of those aspects of the business, allowing me to still concentrate on the core aspect - and that's driving racing cars," Skaife explained.
"Unlike this time last year when we were still coming to terms with the technical changes of Project Blueprint, I see no reason why we can't have a strong start to this season, starting at the support races at the Grand Prix in a couple of weeks."
Sporting a new competition number for the Holden Racing Team in #22, Todd Kelly is entering his second season at HRT. Kelly scored his first V8 Supercar pole position in 2003 and combined with Skaife to win the Sandown 500. The 24 year old aims to improve on that record in 2004.
"I was quite pleased with what we did achieve, all things considered," said Kelly. "Part of the enjoyment I get out of this sport is the challenges that come up and I thought we handled them very well.
"By the end of last year Mark and I had the VY's going pretty good so I think we'll be well and truly in the mix. I'm heading into my 4th full season in this game and I believe I can be successful in it; why not this year?" Kelly said.
New in '04: HRT's strong and stable commercial base has seen few changes. The Gillette Company has been an HRT partner for 2 seasons now but the Company's logo hasn't appeared on the cars before this season. It now has prime position on the rear bumper.
Xbox has continued its support of the Team ahead of the Xbox platform introduction of Atari's new "V8 Supercars 2" game. It features the HRT VY Commodores and, new officially licensed V8 Supercars tracks including Surfers Paradise, Barbagallo, Hidden Valley and Pukekohe, and a totally redesigned graphic engine to suit the Xbox and PC formats.
CUB remains a key business partner despite a restructured strategy that sees its visible support in the on and off-track VB Challenge promotion as well as personal agreements with Mark and Todd.
HRT welcomes global sports clothing and footwear giant Fila as a team sponsor as it consolidates its sporting interests worldwide to golf, tennis and motor sport. This is Fila's first Australian motor sport involvement and extends from their successful Ferrari and Ducati international associations.
In a key personnel gain, Craig Kelly has joined Holden Racing Team this season as acting Chief Executive Officer.
Kelly, 37, is well known in sports circles as a former AFL Collingwood premiership player, and Director of Elite Sports Properties.
In a move to reprioritise Mark Skaife's workload and to allow him to direct his complete attention, in 2004, on his racing commitments, Craig's role will be to consolidate a strong administrative and management support network for HRT.
"V8 Supercars is a mainstream sport today," Kelly said. "It's similar to AFL inasmuch as it requires a full-on team effort to win the day. If I can use footy and sports management experience to help direct and motivate team performance, it will allow both Mark and Todd Kelly to concentrate on driving issues come race weekends."
Kelly will continue with his role at ESP as well as working with HRT.
Release Date: 20/02/2004
Holden Racing Team
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