Kelly Racing has take the covers off a special New Zealand themed Castrol livery to be run by Rick Kelly at this weekend’s ITM Auckland SuperSprint.
A revised version of the Castrol 100 year anniversary livery will adorn the #15 Altima to mark the oil giant’s centenary of operation in the country.
The special matte green livery featuring classic Castrol logos from the firm’s past debuted on the car at Townsville in July.
It has been adapted for this weekend’s trip across the Tasman to Pukekohe with the addition of new Castrol 100 year logo and Kiwi-inspired fern emblems.
While this weekend the team will mark Castrol’s milestone, Kelly will also clock up 250 Supercars round starts, which sees the 2006 champion become the fifth driver ever to achieve the feat.
If he starts both races he will equal his brother Todd Kelly on race starts at 546 – equal fifth on the all-time tally.
“The Auckland round is a significant one for both myself and Castrol, the major partner on my car and a great supporter of me throughout my career in Supercars, so it’s great to be able to celebrate together with the New Zealand-inspired Castrol 100-year livery,” said Kelly.
“The fans loved this livery in Townsville, so it’s great to bring it back for New Zealand with a small tweak.”
“It doesn’t feel like 250 career event starts that’s for sure, it feels like only yesterday that all of this started and I was one of the youngest guys in the field – now I’m one of the most experienced guys out there.
“When you’re doing it there’s very little time to look back on things because you’re always looking forward to the next race so it’ll be nice to celebrate the milestone but having said that it’s business as usual and we’ll be looking to have a good result for the team in New Zealand.”
The Auckland SuperSprint begins with opening practice on Friday.