For starters, it doesn't get any better than Clipsal 500
7/4/2005 15:56 (Press Release) -
HSV Dealer Team drivers Rick Kelly and Garth Tander rate the season-opening Clipsal 500 as one of the highlights of the V8 Supercar tour. They share the view that the combination of challenging Adelaide street circuit, huge crowds and twin-race format offering a big bag of championship points gets the series off and running at the highest level.
Both rate the daunting, concrete-lined 3.22 km temporary track on the fringes of Adelaide’s central business district among their favourites, producing fast and exciting racing up close and personal with the race fans in the huge grandstands.
Last year, more than 170,000 V8 Supercar fans crowded into the circuit over the four-day event, making it the best-attended race event of the year by a large margin.
This year, Tander will be looking to go one better than his best finish in the Clipsal, a second placing in 2000. With a new VZ Commodore and a fresh start with the Bathurst-winning HSV Dealer Team this season, the Melbourne-based West Australian goes into the first round aiming for a big start to the season.
Kelly, now in his third season with the former Kmart team, will also be looking to get his own season off for the best possible start and welcome new sponsor, the HSV Dealer Network, aboard for season 2005 with a flier.
Last year, Kelly showed his liking for the Clipsal as he worked his up through the field from 12th to sixth.
Like Tander, the 21-year-old Mildura driver will be lining up in a new VZ Commodore, which he debuted in the recent non-championship Australian Grand Prix races in Melbourne.
Both HSV cars showed plenty of promise in the AGP sprints which served as a racing test session for the season proper. In race two, Kelly made up a remarkable 22 places after starting from the back row of the grid due to a bent steering arm that put him out of the first of the three sprints, while Tander’s fastest lap was sixth best out of the field of 34 drivers.
However, Clipsal presents a markedly different challenge for all V8 Supercar teams, with the potential for extreme heat and the need to keep it all together over a total of 500 km in two 250 km races requiring fine planning and attention to detail.
As the HSV Dealer Team has shown at Bathurst over the past two years, endurance racing is one of its major strengths, and both Bathurst-winning drivers have proved they can go the distance.
Team Owner, John Kelly also advised that another major step in the Teams sponsorship plan this year occurred during the week with the signing of Bridgestone as a Sponsor for 3 years.
HSV Sales and Marketing Director, Chris Payne commented that Bridgestone has made an outstanding commitment to HSV to the end of 2007 with dual sponsorship programs for both Holden Racing Team and the HSV Dealer Team. “This is part of Bridgestone’s long and successful relationship both as a technical and marketing partner of Australia’s leading niche performance car company” Chris Payne said.
#15 Rick Kelly:
“Clipsal is pretty exciting stuff. The Adelaide street circuit is usually pretty good to us and we love going there. It is going to be great to go to a serious round and see how we measure up. With two new VZ Commodores, Garth coming on board and a few other changes, the team is looking great.”
#16 Garth Tander:
“Clipsal is now one of the biggest races on the calendar, and it is a very important weekend as it sets up your championship. With two races, there are a fair few points on offer, so it is a big start to the season. I quite like street circuits and have had some good results on them, including a couple of podiums. It is nice to start the season on a circuit you like.”
Release Date: 15/03/2005
HSV Dealer Team
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