|
HRT's dynamic duo, Skaife and Kelly, back together for Sandown 500 |
|
|
|
|
Friday, 07 September 2007 |
HOLDEN’s most recent Bathurst winning pairing will be back together at next weekend’s Sandown 500 for the first time since their 2005 victory at Mount Panorama. Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly took the chequered flag in great style at Bathurst for the Holden Racing Team that year, but were split for the 2006 enduros when Garth Tander and Kelly swapped seats for both Sandown and Bathurst.
“It was a good idea at the time, but mechanical ills thwarted our results. The fact we had pole position in both major enduros was evidence of the enormous performance potential of the HRT #2 Commodore,” Mark Skaife said. “Quite frankly, they were races we should have won.” Skaife welcomed the return of Kelly as co-driver. “Todd and I have been team-mates for five years now and we know what’s required to do the job, having won together at both Sandown and Bathurst. “Again, our red Commodores have been on the pace all season and we expect to qualify and race strongly at Sandown.” “Driving with Mark is always good value as we have a great understanding of the need to compromise our driving styles to achieve a result,” Kelly added. “Merging different driver styles and car setups is difficult for some teams, but we seem to manage okay and get things flowing nicely.” Meanwhile, ex-Ford champion Glenn Seton makes history when he fronts up to Sandown for his first ever outing in a race Commodore over his 25 year career. Seton will share HRT #22 Commodore with enduro specialist Nathan Pretty. Seton recently familiarised himself with the car in a couple of test days at Winton. “I did about 50 laps and there were no issues – despite being out of the main game for a while we were right on the pace and I’m looking forward to the challenge of running red instead of blue at Sandown,” Seton said. “Nathan and I hope to put in a good effort and maybe a top five finish is not out of the question.”
|
