JACK DANIEL'S RACING QUOTEBOARD:
TODD KELLY - #7 Jack Daniel's Holden Commodore
"I'm looking forward to New Zealand and not just because it's a great event," said Todd Kelly.
"Between the four of us at Kelly Racing we have four good chances of getting a podium, including my #7 Jack Daniel's Commodore.
"At the last couple of events we should have had one of the cars on the podium at every event, including the Grand Prix.
"So it will be on for young and old between Murph, Reynolds, Rick and I. We've all got very similar car set-ups now so we can learn and help each other, as well as try to beat each other.
"The team is really good, I'm happy with how everything sits. The point that we are at now, in terms of the pace of our four cars and the progress that is coming from our drivers and engineers, I would not have expected us to be at until probably six or seven events into the season.
"But the whole thing has just really clicked so I can't wait to get to New Zealand and make sure we can stick with the form that the cars have had at the last couple of events."
On team-mate and Kiwi hero Greg Murphy ...
"Murph often turns into a bit of a magician when it comes to New Zealand, especially all those years at Pukekohe," said Todd Kelly.
"He's certainly got the momentum to go there and give the joint a pretty big shake up.
"I think he will certainly be the one to watch in front of his home crowd. We will be doing everything we can to chase him down if that's the case."
RICK KELLY - #15 Jack Daniel's Holden Commodore
"Jumping into the older chassis is actually quite exciting because it is a new motivator for me," said Rick Kelly.
"I'm going to wring its neck and see how we go getting a good result from it now that it's been painted up as my #15 Jack Daniel's Commodore.
"It's a race winning chassis so running it doesn't phase me whatsoever.
"We use soft tyres in Hamilton. If we were going there on hard tyres I would be very confident of going there and getting a result in the top few positions. I think the car we've got now on hard tyres is really strong. We proved that at Adelaide and the Grand Prix when we were on hard tyres.
"We've got a little bit of work to do to get the most out of those soft tyres and we need to get on top of that quite quickly. Running the soft tyre in Hamilton is a little bit of an unknown."
On the ITM400 Hamilton ...
"New Zealand has always put on a good event, even the Pukekohe rounds over in NZ were all very good," said Rick Kelly.
"I won the last race there at Pukekohe, which is a nice thing to have on the CV.
"Last year at Hamilton we were fighting for third place and a pit stop drama cost us a chance for a podium.
"The guys are doing a great job with the pit stops at the moment so if we don't have any dramas we should have some good pace there again.
"We are a different team to what we were at the start of the season, one that is a lot stronger for sure, which is very exciting, but that also creates a bit of an unknown as to how we will go when we roll the cars out of the truck.
"We will learn a lot from Murph and Todd when they do the first two practice sessions and use that to our advantage."
On team-mate and Kiwi hero Greg Murphy ...
"Murph didn't have a good time last year and I think that has knocked his confidence around a little bit," said Rick Kelly.
"He's had a great attitude with us all year and he's been trying to fight back to be his old self.
"To be honest, in this game, everyone knows you are only as good as your last race, and he was second on Sunday at the Grand Prix and had genuine pace to finish there.
"For us that was very, very exciting. He drove really well and got the most out of the car.
"I would say that Murph's back, which is great.
"We are going to a round in New Zealand where we know he gets the best out of himself each year. The Pepsi Max car looks great out there on the track, it's handling very well, he's got a good group of guys behind him and they are all the key ingredients for a very, very strong result.
"I would expect him to be towards the front. I trained with him a few times last week and he's ready to go and fired up for his home event."
KEY FACTS:
- Rick Kelly will revert to a spare chassis for the ITM400 Hamilton ...
* Following a heavy crash in Race 3 of the Albert Park 400 at the Australian Grand Prix, Rick Kelly will use a spare chassis for the ITM400 Hamilton
* Kelly will use Kelly Racing's PE047 chassis, last used at the #16 Stratco Commodore at the 2010 Sydney Telstra 500, the same chassis that Todd Kelly drove to a race victory and second overall for Jack Daniel's Racing at Symmons Plains in 2009
* Kelly Racing chassis KR-02 will be repaired and back in Rick Kelly's hands for the sixth event of the 2011 V8 Supercars Championship season at Winton Motor Raceway in Victoria on May 20-22
- Todd and Rick have good form in New Zealand races ...
* The New Zealand leg of the V8 Supercar Championship Series was hosted at Pukekohe Park outside of Auckland from 2001 to 2007 and was a happy hunting ground for the Kelly brothers
* Rick Kelly won the final Pukekohe race in 2007 as well as winning that year's New Zealand event overall
* Todd Kelly also has a race win at Pukekohe, coming from Race 3 in the 2002 event. Todd stood on the podium at the 2003 event with third overall
* Since the event moved to the streets of Hamilton in 2008, Rick Kelly has finished in the top 10 in six out of the seven races held
- New Zealand influence for Jack Daniel's Racing ...
* The Kelly brothers may proudly operate an Australian-owned race team, but there is undeniable Kiwi influence with two key employees of New Zealand heritage a crucial part of the operation
* Jack Daniel's Racing Team Manager Aaron Zampese is a native of Hamilton, New Zealand
* Tim Keegan, Number 1 mechanic on David Reynolds' #16 Stratco Commodore, hails from nearby Nelson, New Zealand
JACK DANIEL'S RACING DRIVERS IN HAMILTON:
Todd Kelly - #7 Jack Daniel's Holden Commodore:
2010 Saturday Qualifying: 19th
2010 Saturday Race: 20th
2010 Sunday Qualifying: Ninth
2010 Sunday Race: Eighth
Event Debut: 2008
Events: 3
Races: 7
Best Qualifying: Ninth (2010 Sunday)
Top 10 in Qualifying: Two
Best Race Finish: Eighth (2010 Sunday, 2009 Saturday and 2008 Race 1)
Top 10 Finish in Race: Three
Rick Kelly - #15 Jack Daniel's Holden Commodore:
2010 Saturday Qualifying: Seventh
2010 Saturday Race: Eighth
2010 Sunday Qualifying: Fourth
2010 Sunday Race: Sixth
Event Debut: 2008
Events: 3
Races: 7
Best Qualifying: Third (2008)
Top 10 in Qualifying: Six
Best Race Finish: Second (2008 – Race One)
Top 10 Finish in Race: Six
2011 V8 Supercars Championship
Drivers Points Standings after Race 4 of 26
1. Jamie Whincup 567
2. Mark Winterbottom 423
3. Garth Tander 363
4. Alex Davison 348
5. Fabian Coulthard 345
6. Craig Lowndes 336
7. Shane Van Gisbergen 327
8. Rick Kelly 321
9. Will Davison 306
10. Jason Bright 294
12. David Reynolds 276
18. Greg Murphy 225
23. Todd Kelly 149
2011 V8 Supercars Championship
Teams Points Standings after Race 4 of 26
1. Team Vodafone 903
2. Ford Performance Racing 729
3. Toll Holden Racing Team 693
4. Stone Brothers Racing 675
5. Kelly Racing 501
6. Jack Daniel's Racing 495
7. Brad Jones Racing 489
8. Fujitsu Racing 438
9. Dick Johnson Racing 381
10. Walkinshaw Racing 345
ITM400 HAMILTON DETAILS:
Circuit: Hamilton Street Circuit
Location: Hamilton, New Zealand
Circuit Length: 3.4 kilometres
Format: 59-lap (200km) race Saturday and Sunday
2010 Saturday Pole Position Winner: Jamie Whincup
2010 Saturday Race Winner: Jamie Whincup
2010 Sunday Pole Position Winner: Garth Tander
2010 Sunday Race Winner: Jamie Whincup
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Times below are New Zealand Standard Time (GMT +12 hours)
Friday 15 April 2011
10:05am – 10:35am: Practice 1
12:35pm – 1:05pm: Practice 2
2:15pm – 2:45pm: Practice 3
3:50pm – 4:20pm: Practice 4
Saturday 16 April 2011
10:20am – 10:40am: Qualifying
11:45am – 12:15pm: Top 10 Shootout
3:05pm: Race One (Series Race 5) – 59 laps
Sunday 17 April 2011
11:00am – 11:20am: Qualifying
3:05pm: Race Two (Series Race 6) – 59 laps
*59 laps or 1 lap after 4:45pm
AUS TELEVISION SCHEDULE – SEVEN NETWORK
Times subject to amendment – please check local guides
Saturday 16 April 2011
1:30pm – 5:00pm: Qualifying, Top 10 Shootout and Race 1
Sunday 17 April 2011
1:00pm – 3:00pm: Qualifying and Race 2
NZL TELEVISION SCHEDULE – TV3
Times subject to amendment – please check local guides
Saturday 16 April 2011
12:00pm – 6:00pm: Qualifying, Top 10 Shootout and Race 1
Sunday 17 April 2011
12:00pm – 6:00pm: Qualifying and Race 2
RACE REPLAYS – SPEED CHANNEL (FOXTEL 505 & 206)
Times subject to amendment – please check local guides
Saturday 16 February 2011: 9:30pm – 11:00pm (Race 1 Highlights)
Sunday 17 February 2011: 12:30pm – 2:00pm (Race 1 Highlights)
Monday 18 February 2011: 8:30am – 10:00am (Race 1 Highlights)
Monday 18 February 2011: 10:00pm – 11:30am (Race 2 Highlights)
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