Two cars in top five for Kmart Racing in wet and wild weekend at Winton
14/8/2004 15:11 (Press Release) -
Kmart Racing’s Rick Kelly sits just 15 points off the lead in the V8 Supercar Championship Series after taking second place in last weekend’s seventh round of the series at Winton in northern Victoria, while team-mate Greg Murphy carved his way through from the back of the grid to finish fifth.
It was a gripping final lap of the 300-kilometre event, the 21-year-old Kelly leading into the penultimate corner before Cameron McConville seized a small opportunity and snatched the lead away.
Still, it was a strong weekend for the team, given that both Kelly and Murphy were forced to start from much further back in the pack than normal after dramas in qualifying.
Kelly, who started 25th, and Murphy (who was forced to start from 33rd on the grid), showed flying speed, carving their way through the field in the early running to run 1-2 on the road at one stage.
But after a good pit stop strategy had helped them move to the front of the pack, drama unfolded for Murphy in the race’s latter stages. On lap 87 of 100 he was leading Ford rival Russell Ingall comfortably, only to find debris on the circuit at the final corner, which forced him to run off the road and lose the lead.
The mud collected by the front spoiler of Murphy’s car blocked the Kmart Holden’s engine air intake and it quickly overheated the motor, which slowed the flying Kiwi and dropped him to fifth.
“The car was pretty good in the dry and we made a good call on our strategy to pit for fuel when we did,” said Murphy.
“We had the speed to win the race, but unfortunately due to someone else going off, that put a lot of debris on the circuit and there were no flags being waved to let us know about it.
“It caked the radiator with mud and overheated the engine quite severely. I’m disappointed not to win or be on the podium after the great job we’d done in the race."
With two Kmart Holdens in the top five, the result has left Kelly strongly placed in the championship and Murphy in sixth spot with six rounds left to go.
“The weekend was really good from a championship point of view, regardless of what happened on the last lap,” said Kelly.
“At the time I thought the corner was under the control of yellow flags so I didn’t see the need to block the line going into the corner. But it hasn’t really affected our championship so we’re moving on to test at Phillip Island on Friday and to the next round.”
Kmart Racing continues to lead the unofficial teams championship, Kelly and Murphy’s combined points giving a total of 2095pts, 7pts ahead of Stone Brothers Racing.
The next round of the V8 Supercar Series, round eight, will be held at Oran Park Raceway in Sydney, on August 13-15.
FINAL RESULTS – Round 7, Winton Motor Raceway, Victoria, July 23-25, 2004: 1. Cameron McConville, Valvoline/Garry Rogers Motorsport; 2. Rick Kelly, Kmart Racing Team, 3. Jason Bright, PWR Racing; 4. Russell Ingall, Caltex/Stone Brothers Racing; 5. Greg Murphy, Kmart Racing Team; 6. Steve Ellery, Super Cheap Auto Racing; 7. Todd Kelly, Holden Racing Team; 8. Paul Morris, Sirromet Wines Racing; 9. Garth Tander, Valvoline/Garry Rogers Motorsport; 10. Glenn Seton, Ford Performance Racing.
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (after seven of 13 rounds): 1. Jason Bright 1131; 2. Steven Richards 1126; 3. Rick Kelly 1116; 4. Marcos Ambrose 1106; 5. Russell Ingall 982; 6. Greg Murphy 979; 7. Garth Tander 924; 8. Todd Kelly 987; 9. John Bowe 728; 10. Jason Bargwanna 652.
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