Teen lion earns HRT Sandown birth
28/11/2001 13:48 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
18-year-old Rick Kelly, younger brother of K-Mart Racing’s Todd, will make his solo Shell Series debut at Sandown Raceway this weekend as part of the Holden Racing Team squad.
Kelly's Young Lion Commodore is numbered #255, recognising the 255-kilowatt variant of Holden's new Monaro
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The Gold Star-clad teenage tyro, who shared a K-Mart Racing Commodore with Nathan Pretty in this year’s endurance races, will pilot a special-edition HRT ‘Young Lion’ VX Commodore, reflecting the launch of Holden Special Vehicles' Coupe range.
Kelly will first have to survive Friday’s cutthroat pre-qualifying session to earn a start in the event’s three 150km races.
He also faces the challenge of learning a new circuit, not having come across the Sandown layout through his Formula Ford and Formula Holden career.
“It certainly won’t be easy for me,” said Kelly, who dominated this year’s Formula Holden championship under the wing of the factory Holden outfit.
“Luckily for me, I have the HRT crew behind me – including Mark (Skaife) and Jason (Bright) – so with their knowledge and team’s data resources, I think I’ll have a good chance of making it to the grid.
“That’s the first objective; if I can do that I’ll then try to keep out of trouble and get through the three 48-lap races to gain as much experience as I can, as these V8 Supercars are very different from the open wheelers I’ve been driving so far this year.”
Long-time HRT engineer Rick Wyatt will head Kelly’s track-side team.
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