Rick's top ten eases HSV pain from a tough weekend
13/4/2005 18:20 (Press Release) -
A fighting top 10 finish by Rick Kelly salvaged a difficult race for the Holden Special Vehicles Dealer Team in race two of the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide. Kelly fought back from 24th place in the middle stages of the 250 km race to regain some pride for the team which had suffered a disappointing blow when Garth Tander’s Commodore was rammed from behind, sending it slamming into a concrete wall and out of the race.
The team has just 10 days to have the VZ Commodore back in shape and on the ship to New Zealand for round 2 of the V8 Supercar Series in Auckland.
Tander’s dramas started when his Commodore became entangled in someone else’s accident as Max Wilson’s spinning car blocked the track.
With damage to his front spoiler, Tander resumed racing but discovered that one of his front tyres was deflating, and started heading for the pits. Before he could make it, his car was rammed from behind, propelling him directly into the unforgiving concrete wall.
Tander was deeply critical of the driver behaviour that caused the incident, saying he had been “punted straight into the wall” by a driver who was a lap down.
Team Manager Rob Crawford said the entire front of Tander’s Commodore would have to be rebuilt. Chassis rails were bent, along with almost everything else in front of the firewall, necessitating the burning of a lot of midnight oil before the trans-Tasman ship sales.
Kelly had a small drama during the race when he was called in for a drive-through penalty for no fault of his own, officials having declared that the team had too many pit crew in pit lane at one point.
However, Kelly was philosophical about the incident, saying he did not believe it cost him much track position.
He said he managed to regain a top-10 place by staying out of trouble and pressing on at appropriate times as rivals fell by the wayside.
Kelly said the HSV Dealer Team would now focus on a top qualifying effort for the second round of the V8 Supercar Series in New Zealand on April 15-17.
#15 Rick Kelly (Race 2 finish - 9th; overall result for round 1 - 9th; championship points - 126 points; fastest lap - 1 min. 24.44 sec):
“We made the best of a bad race, I guess. A lot of people were driving pretty crazily, which really helped us get back up there. We maintained a level head out there, and they kept telling me on the radio to be careful. I don’t think the penalty actually cost a lot in the end because we didn’t quite have the car speed today that we had yesterday. In New Zealand we just have to try to qualify on pole again, and then try to not go backwards.”
#16 Garth Tander (Race 2 finish: DNF; overall result for round 1: 22nd; championship points – 78; fasted lap – 1 min 23.77 sec):
“I was hit from behind by a driver who was a lap down. It was obvious I had problems with a flat tyre after the initial contact with Max Wilson’s car, and I slowed down to get through the corner, and I braked early and everything to warn him but he ran straight into the back of the me and put me straight into the wall. It’s a shame because we had good pace and could have just put on a new tyre and get back into the race.”
Release Date: 20/03/2005
HSV Dealer Team
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