Team Principal | John Kelly Margaret Kelly |
---|---|
Debut | 2001 |
Final Season | 2008 |
Round wins | 16 |
Pole positions | 11 |
2008 position | 6th (3,744 points) |
The HSV Dealer Team, previously known as Tom Walkinshaw Racing Australia and John Kelly Racing, was an Australian V8 Supercar team. The team ceased operations at the end of 2008, with Walkinshaw Racing and Kelly Racing being formed by owners and staff of the former team. The team is best known for winning the Bathurst 1000 in 2003 and 2004 and the V8 Supercars Drivers & Teams Championships in 2006 and 2007.
The team was formed in 2001 (commercially known as K-Mart Racing Team) when Tom Walkinshaw Racing expanded its Holden Racing Team operation to four cars. Because a team could only race three cars under a Racing Entitlement Contract (REC) at the time, Romano Racing's REC was leased for the two K-Mart cars with the Romano car entered as a third Holden Racing Team car under the Holden Young Lions banner.
Todd Kelly who had driven a third HRT entry under the Holden Young Lions banner in 2000 drove one car, with the second driven by Greg Murphy who moved with the K-Mart sponsorship from Gibson Motorsport. The team achieved its first success in winning the final two rounds of the 2001 season. Murphy won his home event, the V8 International at Pukekohe Park Raceway, which was followed by Kelly winning the V8 Ultimate at Sandown Raceway, his first championship round win. [1] Murphy would go on to win the Pukekohe event again for the team in 2002 and 2003.
For 2003 the cars were entered under a REC leased from John Faulkner Racing with Rick Kelly replacing brother Todd. Following the February 2003 collapse of Tom Walkinshaw Racing, the team was purchased by Holden before being quickly on-sold to John and Margaret Kelly, the parents of Rick and Todd, as manufacturers were barred from owning teams. In July 2003 the leased John Faulkner REC was returned (and subsequently sold to Paul Weel Racing), after one was purchased from 00 Motorsport.
The team won both the 2003 and 2004 Bathurst 1000 with Murphy and Rick Kelly as co-drivers. This included being a part of one of the most famous moments in Bathurst history in 2003, with Murphy setting what became known as the 'Lap of the Gods' in the Top 10 Shootout. The lap was the fastest in circuit history at the time. In winning the 2003 race, Rick Kelly became the youngest winner in the race's history. [2]
In 2005 Murphy was replaced by Garth Tander. At this point K-Mart concluded their sponsorship and the team became the HSV Dealer Team. Rick Kelly's entry was, however, rebranded as Team Buick for the V8 Supercars China Round. The team struggled through the early stages of 2005 before a late upturn in form. In 2006, Toll Group joined HSV as a title sponsor with the team becoming known as Toll HSV Dealer Team. The team then quickly became the dominant force of the championship with Rick Kelly winning the 2006 championship title and Tander doing likewise in 2007. [1]
In 2008 Tander transferred, with the Toll sponsorship, to the Holden Racing Team and was replaced by Paul Dumbrell. [3] As well as continuing HSV sponsorship, the team ran Autobarn colours for Dumbrell and Opes Prime colours for Kelly, Toll Group then rejoined the team midway through the season, following the collapse of Opes Prime. Rick Kelly won the team's final race at Oran Park Raceway in December 2008, which was also the final championship race held at the now-demolished circuit. [1]
For the endurance races in 2006, the HSV Dealer Team and the Holden Racing Team swapped drivers, primarily to split Tander and Kelly who were both in contention for the championship (being 1st and 2nd at that point). Tander joined Mark Skaife at HRT while Todd Kelly rejoined the team. A loophole in the regulations allowed the drivers to terminate their contracts with their respective teams. However while Kelly would finish second at both Sandown and Bathurst, Tander only managed twenty-seventh at Sandown and did not finish at Bathurst. [2] The loophole was later closed.
At the end of 2008 John Kelly announced he would end his association with Walkinshaw Performance and establish Kelly Racing, with preparation handled by Perkins Engineering. The new team expanded to four cars and featured both Kelly brothers driving in the same team for the first time. The team continues to this day, and partnered with Nissan for their return to the category in 2013.
Walkinshaw Performance decided to continue to race four cars, forming Walkinshaw Racing in 2009 to complement the HRT entries. Dumbrell remained with the Walkinshaw operation for 2009, joined by former HSV Dealer Team endurance co-driver David Reynolds. Walkinshaw Racing folded after the 2015 season as the operation downsized to two cars.
The following is a list of drivers who have driven for the team in V8 Supercars, in order of their first appearance. Drivers who only drove for the team on a part-time basis are listed in italics. [1]
Mark Stephen SkaifeOAM is an Australian former racing driver. Skaife is a five-time champion of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, including its predecessor, the Australian Touring Car Championship, as well as a six-time Bathurst 1000 winner. On 29 October 2008, he announced his retirement from full-time touring car racing. Since retiring from driving, Skaife has worked as a commentator and presenter for the series for both the Seven Network and Fox Sports Australia.
Walkinshaw Andretti United is an Australian motor racing team based in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton. The team, initially branded as the Holden Racing Team, used to field Holden Commodores in the Supercars Championship before making the switch to Ford Mustangs for the 2023 season. The two cars are currently driven by Ryan Wood and Chaz Mostert.
Gregory David Murphy is a New Zealand professional racing driver, best known as a four-time winner of the Bathurst 1000. Greg Murphy joined Jeremy Clarkson and James May presenting Top Gear Live, when it had its first international Live show at ASB Showgrounds in Auckland from 12 to 15 February 2009, and again when the show returned in 2010.
Garth Dirk Tander is a multiple-championship winning Australian motor racing driver competing in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship's Enduro Cup, co-driving for Grove Racing. He was the 2007 series champion for the HSV Dealer Team and is a five-time winner in Australia's most prestigious motor race, the Bathurst 1000.
Paul Lakeland Dumbrell is an Australian business executive and retired racing driver.
Triple Eight Race Engineering, branded as Red Bull Ampol Racing in Supercars, is an Australian motor racing team competing in the Supercars Championship. The team has been the only Brisbane-based V8 Supercar team since its formation, originally taking over and operating out of the former Briggs Motor Sport workshop in Bowen Hills during the 2003 season before moving to Banyo in 2009. The team has won the Supercars drivers' championship ten times, the teams' championship eleven times and the Bathurst 1000 ten times.
Todd Evan Kelly is a retired Australian professional racing driver who competed in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. He is the older brother of fellow Supercars driver and former Bathurst 1000 winner, Rick Kelly. He drove for the Holden Racing Team from 2003 until 2007, and Perkins Engineering in 2008. Since 2009, he has been with his family team Kelly Racing. He is the youngest driver to have reached 100 starts in the series.
Perkins Engineering was a team contesting the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series, operating as an active racing team between 1986 and 2008. From 2009 onwards, the involvement of Perkins Engineering in the championship was wound back into a supply relationship with the newly formed Kelly Racing.
The 2008 Midas 400 was the fifth round of the 2008 V8 Supercar season. It was held on the weekend of 7 to 9 June Sandown Raceway in Melbourne, Victoria. With most states of Australia celebrating a public holiday on the Monday celebrating the Queen's birthday, the meeting took the unusual format of Saturday-Monday instead of Friday-Sunday.
The 2008 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 was the twelfth running of the Australian 1000 race, first held after the organisational split over the Bathurst 1000 that occurred in 1997. It was the 51st race tracing its lineage back to the 1960 Armstrong 500 held at Phillip Island.
The 2007 V8 Supercar season featured the ninth V8 Supercar Championship Series which began on 1 March and concluded on 2 December. This championship consisted of 14 rounds covering all states and the Northern Territory of Australia as well as rounds in New Zealand and Bahrain. The series also carried the Australian Touring Car Championship title, which was awarded by CAMS for the 48th time in 2007.
The 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series was the eleventh V8 Supercar Championship Series and the thirteenth series in which V8 Supercars have contested the premier Australian touring car title. It began on 19 March at the Clipsal 500 on the streets of Adelaide and ended on 6 December at the Homebush Street Circuit and consisted of 26 races over 14 events which were held in all states and the Northern Territory of Australia as well as New Zealand. The 50th Australian Touring Car Championship title was awarded to the winner of the series by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport.
David Reynolds is an Australian professional racing driver. He currently drives in the Repco Supercars Championship for Team 18, racing the No. 20 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. He won the 2017 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 with co-driver Luke Youlden.
Kelly Racing is an Australian motor racing team which competes in the Dunlop Super2 Series. It formerly competed in the Supercars Championship from 2009 to 2021. The team made its debut in 2009, and raced Holden VE Commodores until the end of the 2012 season. In 2013, the team switched to competing with Nissan Altimas, and was rebranded Nissan Motorsport.
The 2010 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 was a motor race for V8 Supercars. The race, which was held on Sunday, 10 October 2010 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia was Race 18 of the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series. It was the fourteenth running of the Australian 1000 race, first held after the organisational split over the Bathurst 1000 that occurred in 1997. It was also the 53rd race for which the lineage can be traced back to the 1960 Armstrong 500 held at Phillip Island.
The 2011 International V8 Supercar Championship was an FIA sanctioned international motor racing series for V8 Supercars. It was the thirteenth V8 Supercar Championship Series and the fifteenth series in which V8 Supercars contested the premier Australian touring car title. It was the first since the series was elevated to the 'International category' status by the FIA. The championship began on 10 February in the Middle East at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit and finished on 4 December at the Homebush Street Circuit. It was contested over 28 races at 14 events. These events were held in all states of Australia and in the Northern Territory as well as in the United Arab Emirates, and New Zealand. The 52nd Australian Touring Car Championship title was awarded to Jamie Whincup by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport.
The 2012 International V8 Supercar Championship was an FIA-sanctioned international motor racing series for V8 Supercars. It was the fourteenth running of the V8 Supercar Championship Series and the sixteenth series in which V8 Supercars have contested the premier Australian touring car title. The championship began on 1 March at the Clipsal 500 and concluded on 2 December at the Homebush Street Circuit. The 53rd Australian Touring Car Championship title was awarded to the winner of the Drivers' Championship by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport.
The 2014 International V8 Supercars Championship was an FIA-sanctioned international motor racing series for V8 Supercars. It was the sixteenth running of the V8 Supercars Championship and the eighteenth series in which V8 Supercars have contested the premier Australian touring car title.
The 2017 Supercars Championship was an FIA-sanctioned international motor racing series for Supercars, which prior to July 2016 had been known as V8 Supercars. It was the nineteenth running of the Supercars Championship and the twenty-first series in which Supercars have contested the premier Australian touring car title.
The 2016 Wilson Security Sandown 500 was a motor racing event for Supercars, held from 16 to 18 September 2016 at the Sandown Raceway in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and consisted of one race of 445 kilometres in length. It was the tenth event of fourteen in the 2016 International V8 Supercars Championship and hosted Race 20 of the season. It was also the first event of the 2016 Pirtek Enduro Cup. The event was the 46th running of the Sandown 500.