Todd Kelly

Todd Kelly

Todd Kelly in 2009
Nationality  Australian
Born 9 October 1979 (1979-10-09) (age 37)
Melbourne, Victoria
Supercars Record
Car number 7
Current team Nissan Motorsport
Series championships 0
Races 530
Race wins 19
Podium finishes 58
Pole positions 7
2016 Championship position 14th (1,808 pts)

Todd Kelly (born 9 October 1979) is an Australian professional racing driver currently competing in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, driving the No. 7 Nissan Altima for Nissan Motorsport. He is the older brother of fellow V8 Supercar driver and former Bathurst 1000 winner, Rick Kelly. He drove for the Holden Racing Team from 2003 until 2007, and Perkins Engineering in 2008.[1] Since 2009, he has been with his family team Kelly Racing (now known as Nissan Motorsport Australia).[2] He is the youngest driver to have reached 100 starts in the series.

V8 Supercars

Season 2001 was Kelly's first full-time season in V8 Supercars (although he had previously raced in the category in 99' and 00'), he drove for the K-Mart Racing Team alongside Greg Murphy. He and Greg finished 3rd at Bathurst. He finished his first full season in 6th[3] and broke through for his first round victory in the last round of the season at Sandown Raceway. Season 2002 saw him take four second places, and fifth[4] in the championship.

After two successful years with K-Mart Racing Team the departure of Jason Bright left a vacancy at the Holden Racing Team in 2003. Kelly and new team mate Mark Skaife won the Sandown 500 in very wet conditions and in controversial circumstances with a late race tussle with the Team Dynamic Commodore of Jason Richards and Simon Wills. Kelly finished ninth[5] in the championship, behind his brother Rick in eighth. Kelly was part of the two-car Holden Monaro assault by Garry Rogers Motorsport on the 2003 Bathurst 24 Hour race. With co-drivers Jason Bright, Greg Murphy and Peter Brock, Kelly won the race with Murphy crossing the line only 0.3505 seconds ahead of the teams lead car (and the 2002 race winner) driven by Garth Tander and co-driven by Steven Richards, Cameron McConville and Nathan Pretty.

Season 2004 saw him finish behind his brother in the Championship, but this time two places up in seventh.[6] Season 2005 was Kelly's most successful year in V8 Supercars, claiming five podiums. Three of them were wins, including the Bathurst 1000 with Mark Skaife which was Todd's 26th birthday and also the V8 Supercars China Round, the series' only ever event to be held in China. He finished 4th[7] in the standings, ahead of teammate Skaife in fifth.

Kelly's 2006 season was fairly average throughout the first six rounds, albeit largely through mechanical failures, however after strong driving performances at the next three rounds including second in both the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 when he paired up with younger brother Rick Kelly. Kelly's seat was taken by HSV Dealer Team driver Garth Tander. He was just starting to show some of the form that had him finish fourth in championship in 2005. He finished the year off strongly, with a second and first place in the last two rounds which left him in sixth place[8] at the end of the year.

Todd Kelly (left) and Garth Tander at a press conference in 2007

Season 2007 was another average year for Kelly, he won the Clipsal 500 but was not able to continue that edge. He came second at Phillip Island and at the Grand Finale, finishing seventh[9] in the championship. In doing so, helped secure Garth Tander the drivers championship. At the conclusion of the season, Kelly announced he would drive for Jack Daniel's Racing from 2008 onwards after a five-year association with HRT.[10] This move is believed to have also been supported by 2007 champion Garth Tander confirming he will be moving from HSVDT to HRT.

Kelly's 2008 proved to be inconsistent. After starting the year well at Clipsal, where he finished fifth for the round, the middle part of the season saw a lack of the results expected from Kelly. After a major suspension geometry issue was resolved during the course of the Bathurst weekend, the car showed a sudden turn of speed. He finished 4th at Surfers Paradise, then scored a stunning race win in the wet at Symmons Plains,[11] the first victory of any kind (race or round) for a Perkins Engineering entry since 2006. Kelly finished the season in 12th position.[12]

Career results

The Nissan Altima (L33) of Todd Kelly at the 2015 Clipsal 500 Adelaide
Season Series Position Car Team
1996 Australian Formula Ford Championship 12th Van Diemen RF93 Ford Todd Kelly
1997 Australian Formula Ford Championship 3rd Van Diemen RF95 Ford Todd Kelly
1998 Australian Drivers' Championship 3rd Reynard 92D Holden Todd Kelly
1999 Shell Championship Series 36th Holden VS Commodore
Holden VT Commodore		 Holden Young Lions
Australian Drivers' Championship 8th Reynard 92D Holden Greg Murphy Racing
2000 Shell Championship Series 17th Holden VT Commodore Holden Racing Team
2001 Shell Championship Series 6th Holden VX Commodore K-mart Racing
2002 V8 Supercar Championship Series 5th Holden VX Commodore K-mart Racing
2003 V8 Supercar Championship Series 9th Holden VY Commodore Holden Racing Team
2004 V8 Supercar Championship Series 7th Holden VY Commodore Holden Racing Team
2005 V8 Supercar Championship Series 4th Holden VZ Commodore Holden Racing Team
2006 V8 Supercar Championship Series 6th Holden VZ Commodore Holden Racing Team
HSV Dealer Team
2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series 6th[13] Holden VE Commodore Holden Racing Team
2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series 12th Holden VE Commodore Jack Daniel's Racing
2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series 18th Holden VE Commodore Kelly Racing
2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series 18th Holden VE Commodore Kelly Racing
2011 International V8 Supercars Championship 18th Holden VE Commodore Kelly Racing
2012 International V8 Supercars Championship 22nd Holden VE Commodore Kelly Racing
2013 International V8 Supercars Championship 25th Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport
2014 International V8 Supercars Championship 22nd Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport
2015 International V8 Supercars Championship 17th Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport
2016 International V8 Supercars Championship 14th Nissan Altima L33 Nissan Motorsport

Bathurst 1000 results

Year Number Team Car Co-driver Position Laps
1998 46 John Faulkner Racing Holden VS Commodore John Faulkner DNF 136
1999 15 Holden Young Lions Holden VT Commodore Mark Noske 6th 161
2000 15 Holden Young Lions Holden VT Commodore Nathan Pretty 5th 161
2001 15 K-mart Racing Team Holden VX Commodore Greg Murphy 3rd 161
2002 51 K-mart Racing Team Holden VX Commodore Greg Murphy 13th 159
2003 1 Holden Racing Team Holden VY Commodore Mark Skaife 8th 161
2004 2 Holden Racing Team Holden VY Commodore Mark Skaife 14th 159
2005 2 Holden Racing Team Holden VZ Commodore Mark Skaife 1st 161
2006 15 HSV Dealer Team Holden VZ Commodore Rick Kelly 2nd 161
2007 2 Holden Racing Team Holden VE Commodore Mark Skaife DNF 149
2008 7 Perkins Engineering Holden VE Commodore Shane Price 17th 157
2009 7 Kelly Racing Holden VE Commodore Rick Kelly 8th 161
2010 7 Kelly Racing Holden VE Commodore Dale Wood 20th 161
2011 7 Kelly Racing Holden VE Commodore David Russell 24th 154
2012 7 Kelly Racing Holden VE Commodore Tim Blanchard 18th 154
2013 7 Nissan Motorsport Nissan Altima David Russell DNF 20
2014 7 Nissan Motorsport Nissan Altima Alex Buncombe 7th 161
2015 7 Nissan Motorsport Nissan Altima Alex Buncombe 20th 156
2016 7 Nissan Motorsport Nissan Altima Matt Campbell DNF 157

Bathurst 24 Hour results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2003 Australia Garry Rogers Motorsport Australia Peter Brock
New Zealand Greg Murphy
Australia Jason Bright		 Holden Monaro 427C A 527 1st 1st

References

  1. ↑ "Todd Kelly Confirmed at JDR". 5 December 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  2. ↑ "Jack Daniel's teams up with Kelly Racing". Holden Motorsport. 2 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-03.
  3. ↑ "2001 V8 Supercar Championship Final Points". V8 Supercars Australia. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  4. ↑ "2002 V8 Supercar Championship Final Points". V8 Supercars Australia. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  5. ↑ "2003 V8 Supercar Championship Final Points". V8 Supercars Australia. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  6. ↑ "2004 V8 Supercar Championship Final Points". V8 Supercars Australia. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  7. ↑ "2005 V8 Supercar Championship Final Points". V8 Supercars Australia. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  8. ↑ "2006 V8 Supercar Championship Final Points". V8 Supercars Australia. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  9. ↑ "2007 V8 Supercar Championship Final Points". V8 Supercars Australia. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  10. ↑ Jack Daniel's Racing Signs Todd Kelly
  11. ↑ "Hot Toddy goes down well in cold Tassie". 22 November 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  12. ↑ "2008 V8 Supercar Championship Final Points". V8 Supercars Australia. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  13. ↑ 2007 V8 Series results
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Greg Murphy
Rick Kelly		 Winner of the Bathurst 1000
2005
(with Mark Skaife) 		Succeeded by
Craig Lowndes
Jamie Whincup
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