Kelly Racing’s threats to be involved in the Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series have finally be actioned after confirmation it will enter the Development Series at Queensland Raceway.
The second-year V8 Supercars team will enter Owen Kelly in the #77 Metaland Holden Commodore in Round 2 this weekend, with the goal of giving its recent endurance driver signing vital track time ahead of the Phillip Island and Bathurst races later this year.
The Kelly’s #77 entry is expected to contest a number of Fujitsu rounds this year, with Owen Kelly initially penciled into do Queensland Raceway and Winton.
Owen (no relation to Todd and Rick Kelly) is no stranger to the Fujitsu Series. He currently sits third on the all-time race win list with 13 victories with a best series finish of third in 2004 with Dick Johnson Racing.
The Commodore that Kelly Racing will prepare is being engineered at the track by Jack Daniel’s Racing data engineer Peter Craik and prepared by experienced mechanics Mike Gennery, Daniel Young and Rodney Frith, who all have vast V8 Supercar experience and now hold workshop-based positions
Owen Kelly told Speedcafe.com.au that victory this weekend isn’t out of the question, although the primary reason behind the drive is to gather current seat experience.
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“The idea is to get some seat time before the endurance races, and with the testing restrictions, it’s difficult to give your enduro guys any decent miles,” he said.
“The Fujitsu Series is the perfect way to do it, and our number one thing this weekend is to get the seat time. I think we’ll have a pretty good car, we’ll see what we can do and if we can fight for the win, we’ll do that. But the big picture is the seat time and get all the laps we can under our belt. Come Bathurst, that will make a big difference.
“We’re definitely not going to make up the numbers. I’ve won at Queensland Raceway before, so it’s just a matter of seeing what we’ve got when we get there.”
The Fujitsu V8 Series will hold three races at Queensland Raceway over the weekend with 25 cars entered for the meeting.
