March 2010

Race to the Finish

As the V8 race season takes off, we meet the Aussie brothers of Kelly Racing and find out fast cars aren’t their only passion

WORDS STEWART BELL

It’s a common boyhood dream: racing driver — suited up, helmet on — accelerating out of the final turn to take the chequered flag and become the hero of the day. For Rick and Todd Kelly, this dream has lead to two highly successful careers as well as the opportunity to drive for their own V8 Supercar team.

It’s a slick operation. The Kelly Racing facility in Braeside, Victoria, launched 2 March 2009, is everything you’d expect from a top-line race team: a quiet focus as the team prepares steadily for the season ahead, supreme attention to detail and a shop floor so clean you could eat off it. It has all the hallmarks of a champion’s lair.

In amongst it all, Rick and Todd have been working hard — day and night — in preparation for the opening rounds in the Middle East and then on home soil for Adelaide’s Clipsal 500, come 11–14 March.

“Last year for us was very much a year of setting the team up — so our priority was based around that,” says Rick, the younger of the two. “This year our priority has shifted back towards getting the most out of ourselves as drivers, and anything we can do to possibly enhance that, like fitness.”

2009 was a promising year for the team. Podium finishes late in the season included a second place at Perth’s Barbagallo Raceway and success at both Phillip Island events — a win for Todd in the qualifying race at the L&H 500 and back-to-back second places for Rick at the Island 300.

Of course, in motorsport, things don’t always go to plan — and the team ran heavily in the midfield for much of the season. They also encountered their fair share of mechanical troubles, such as a loose undertray for Rick at Bathurst after being hit by Warren Luff; and at Surfers Paradise, when fuel vented from the back of his car. Then at the Sydney 500 both brothers kissed the barrier at turn eight. “That was really the weekend to top off the whole year for us and have a good result… but it backfired.”

Look beyond the racing and you can tell that they’re just two regular country boys at heart, having grown up alongside the Murray River in Mildura, Victoria. They’re good mates and the age difference is small — Todd is 30 and Rick just 27 — and the way they casually chat together reflects the strong bond upon which the team is built.

“We’ve always grown up on a little bit of land, so that gave us great opportunities to race around on motorbikes,” says Rick. It was this childhood of friendly competition — on motorbikes, gokarts and water-skis — that made that transition to the race circuit a natural one. Both competed in Australian Formula Ford and Formula Holden (now known as Formula 3) and were brought up through Holden’s “Young Lions” program.

“As kids, we often watched V8 Supercars and looked up to guys like Jim Richards and Glenn Seton,” explains Rick. “Bathurst for our family was always a bit of a tradition, where we had all our friends over for a barbecue breakfast. Then all the kids would go out and race around on pushbikes. We only dreamed of being in V8 Supercars.”

They made it through hard work and — especially for Todd — the dedication required to build each car from the ground up, alongside his father. That they have now raced against the legends they once watched over breakfast is something they still shake their heads at in wonder.

“When I first started racing as a 17 year old, I think I qualified near Larry [Perkins] on the grid at Albert Park. Sitting in the car, I was about to throw up on the grid, I was that nervous. We were lucky to come into the sport at that period when all those legends were around. It was pretty cool!”

Although they have both won Bathurst and are multiple race winners, Rick has had the lion’s share of the ultimate prizes, having won the V8 Supercar Championship in 2006 and the Australian Drivers Championship for Formula Holden in 2001.

“I never get past the first Bathurst win.

For me, that was unreal and something I will never forget: walking out onto that podium, with so many people standing there, was a bit daunting and unreal. But, when we win our first major event for the race team, that is going to top that,” says Rick.

Away from the racing scene, both Rick and Todd go water-ski racing — something they enjoyed as kids — but is now somewhat of a luxury, given previous driving contracts would have prohibited any type of “dangerous activities”.

“When we do get time off, we both enjoy going to our other workshop around the corner and working away on the boat,” says Rick, who will race with Todd in the Southern 80, a 40-year-old water-ski race held on the Murray River at Echuca/Moama.

As for the nerves of their families, Todd says calmly, “They’re used to it. For all the family, probably the biggest worry is the ski racing. The cars have become quite safe now. But we

don’t give them many weekends off over the year from worrying, that’s for sure.”

Regardless of their off-track activities, you can’t help but feel that Kelly Racing is on the home run. Rick and Todd are focused, their facility is well organised and abuzz with activity, and the hard lessons have been learnt in 2009. It bodes well for a great season.

SUPERCAR SERIES 2010 V8

11-14 MARCH: CLIPSAL 500, SA
25-28 MARCH: AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX, VIC
16-18 APRIL: HAMILTON 400, NEW ZEALAND
30 APRIL - 2 MAY: QUEENSLAND RACEWAY, QLD
14-16 MAY: WINTON MOTOR RACEWAY, VIC
18-20 JUNE: SKYCITY TRIPLE CROWN, HIDDEN VALLEY RACEWAY, NT
9-11 JULY: DUNLOP TOWNSVILLE 400, QLD
10-12 SEP: L&H 500 PHILLIP ISLAND, VIC
7-10 OCTOBER: SUPERCHEAP AUTO BATHURST 1000, NSW
21-24 OCTOBER: V8 SUPERCAR CHALLENGE, QLD
5-7 NOV: FALKEN TASMANIA CHALLENGE, TAS
19-21 NOV: NORTON 360 SANDOWN CHALLENGE, VIC
3-5 DEC: SYDNEY TELSTRA 500, NSW

FAVOURITE DESTINATION

Rick Kelly: “For us, our series goes to a lot of destinations which we enjoy: Perth, Darwin, the Gold Coast. I’ve only ever been to Darwin with our racing, but it’s such a relaxed atmosphere, a nice small town, there’s a lot to see and do, and the weather is always awesome.”

Todd Kelly: “If we were going to stay over from a race meeting for a break, Darwin would be on top of the list. There’s awesome fishing around that place.”