David Russell will return to the wheel of Rick Kelly’s Nissan Altima in practice at Queensland Raceway later this month as preparations begin for the Pirtek Enduro Cup.

Jack Daniel’s Racing has this morning formally announced the widely known fact that Russell will continue with the team for a fifth consecutive endurance berth.

Russell, who is yet to drive the Altima in any of the co-driver sessions this year, will undertake Friday practice and Monday ride duties with the team at Ipswich.

The entire four-car Nissan squad has an unchanged line-up from last year’s enduros, having already announced its James Moffat/Taz Douglas, Michael Caruso/Dean Fiore and Todd Kelly/Alex Buncombe combinations.

Rick Kelly hopes to build on an eighth place Bathurst finish alongside Russell last year, which marked the former two-time winner’s best result at the venue in his last eight starts.

“Continuity is a massive thing in V8 Supercars, and so is experience in endurance racing from a co-driver as well,” said Kelly.

“David not only has a lot of experience in a V8 Supercar, but also a lot of experience with us as a team, which is important.

“This year has been great for us, we have a lot of momentum carrying us further up the grid, I think David and I have been a very solid combination in years gone by in the Enduro Cup.”

Russell says he’s been keeping a close eye on Nissan’s V8 Supercars fortunes, which included a pole position last month for Kelly at Hidden Valley.

Although the team struggled in Townsville at the weekend, a pre-Sandown engine upgrade is hoped to provide a vital boost for the Enduro Cup.

“I’ve been watching closely the recent results, as well as the qualifying effort in Darwin, and it’s very exciting,” said Russell.

“The guys in the Nissan Motorsport team have worked so hard, and it’s starting to pay off.

“It will be very nice to be a part of it, we’ve had some past success, but there is nothing I want more than to go and win some races with Rick, that’s for sure.”

Russell is this year combining his co-driving duties with a full-time Carrera Cup ride and several international GT outings.

The 33-year-old currently sits sixth in the Carrera Cup standings and says having a full-time ride is a boost to his Enduro Cup preparation efforts.

This year, the Sandown, Bathurst and Gold Coast meetings all feature support races for the one-make category.

“It’s fantastic, and a great opportunity to do more miles against some very very stiff competition,” he said of the Carrera Cup.

“Although the cars are left hand drive, they are actually quite similar in their handling characteristics to V8 Supercars, it’s good just to have those race miles under my belt.”

Russell has been slated to drive in the 24 Hours of Spa later this month, although that campaign is currently in doubt after car owner Roger Lago sustained injuries during a Carrera Cup crash in Townsville at the weekend.