Nissan Motorsport’s lead driver Rick Kelly says that his 11th place finish in the debut of the all-new Altima V8 Supercar is a “solid” result, but admits there is plenty of work to be done in the coming months.
Kelly finished as the highest placed Altima driver, with Nissan team-mate James Moffat finishing a trouble-free 14th.
The other two Nissans of Todd Kelly (Jack Daniel’s) and Michael Caruso (Norton 360) both suffered with power steering issues.
Kelly says a top 10 finish went begging due to the thirst of the Altima’s VK56 engine, but says that he is pleased with the debut performance.
“In my opinion, for our first race and at the very start of our development phase with the Altima, it’s a solid start. There’s no doubt about it,” Kelly told Speedcafe.com.
“We spent a considerably longer amount of time in pit lane due to hose times. We haven’t got the fuel economy of others, but that’s stuff we can work on.
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“It’s not an incredible result, but it’s a damn solid one.”
Kelly was also happy with the handling of his car, stating it was the best his Altima has ever felt.
“The car handled really well. That’s the best it has ever felt,” he said.
“The team should be proud of what we’ve achieved to get the cars here, and to have one solid result, and the others with all the potential, it is very encouraging.”
CLICK HERE for Speedcafe.com’s race report and results from today’s opening race in Adelaide.
