Rick Kelly masters the wet at Sandown Photo credit: V8 Supercars Media
Rick Kelly defied treacherous conditions to take victory in the opening race of the Norton 360 Sandown Challenge race in Melbourne today.
With the wet weather creating havoc and hampering the field’s visibility, Jack Daniel’s Racing's Kelly held his nerve leading for almost the entire race and surviving four Safety Car restarts to collect his third race win of the season from a hard-charging James Courtney.
Toll Holden Racing Team driver Courtney's late race pace saw him pass Ford Performance Racing's Will Davison and SP Tools Racing's Shane van Gisbergen to take only his second podium finish of the year, and his first since the season opening Abu Dhabi event back in February.
Rick’s brother and team-mate, Todd Kelly also overcame a battle with van Gisbergen in the closing stages before grabbing third place from Davison in a drag race to the chequered flag. His second podium finish of the season scored Jack Daniel's Racing a second double podium for 2011 and ensured an all Holden podium.
“It was a very nerve-wracking race from my point of view, with all the safety cars, but I’m super stoked to be here,” said Rick Kelly.
“That car, in the wet, was quite obviously on rails so I really have to thank my guys,” he added.
After a disastrous qualifying session which left him starting from 27th and second-to-last place, TeamVodafone's Craig Lowndes put in one of the drives of the year to save his season and keep his championship hopes alive. Bravely picking his way through the field in the appalling conditions, he also benefitted from a well-timed pit stop as the Safety Car was deployed called for debris at the last corner. Advancing 12 places during the first eight laps, Lowndes kept up the momentum going on to finish in sixth place, crucially ahead of his team-mate and championship rival, Jamie Whincup.
Whincup, who had qualified second, slipped back through the field to finish 13th after struggling with tyre grip in the difficult conditions, the same problem which Lowndes encountered in qualifying. This was only the fourth time this year Whincup has finished a race outside the top ten. This narrows the points-gap to 158 with three races remaining and 450 points still up for grabs.
However, the TeamVodafone duo's result was still enough to secure the team the V8 Supercars Teams Championship for the consecutive year.
Trading Post FPR's Will Davison finished fourth ahead of van Gisbergen, while Orrcon Steel FPR's Mark Winterbottom took seventh behind Lowndes. Toll Holden Racing's Garth Tander, Bundaberg Racing's Fabian Coulthard and VIP Petfoods' Steve Owen rounded out the top ten.
The Norton 360 Sandown Challenge will conclude with a final 65-lap race tomorrow following a qualifying session in the morning.
Race 25 results:
| Pos | Entrant | Driver | Vehicle | Fastest Lap | Fastest Lap Time | Race Time | Laps |
Points |
| 1 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Rick Kelly | Commodore VE2 | 3 | 01:19:7225 | 58:57:5869 | 37 | 150 |
| 2 | Toll Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Commodore VE2 | 3 | 01:21:6502 | 59:01:3094 | 37 | 138 |
| 3 | Jack Daniel’s Racing | Todd Kelly | Commodore VE2 | 3 | 01:21:8414 | 59:01:9937 | 37 | 129 |
| 4 | Trading Post FPR Falcon | Will Davison | Falcon FG | 3 | 01:21:3337 | 59:02:4824 | 37 | 120 |
| 5 | SP Tools Racing | Shane van Gisbergen | Falcon FG | 3 | 01:20:8820 | 59:03:4069 | 37 | 111 |
| 6 | TeamVodafone | Craig Lowndes | Commodore VE2 | 5 | 01:22:4275 | 59:03:9590 | 37 | 102 |
| 7 | Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon | Mark Winterbottom | Falcon FG | 4 | 01:22:3866 | 59:05:0738 | 37 | 96 |
| 8 | Toll Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Commodore VE2 | 6 | 01:21:9333 | 59:07:4588 | 37 | 90 |
| 9 | Bundaberg Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Commodore VE2 | 5 | 01:22:4315 | 59:07:5002 | 37 | 84 |
| 10 | VIP Petfoods | Steve Owen | Commodore VE2 | 3 | 01:21:3439 | 59:10:5915 | 37 | 78 |
| 11 | Mother Energy Racing Team | Jonathon Webb | Falcon FG | 3 | 01:21:6148 | 59:12:5245 | 37 | 72 |
| 12 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | Paul Dumbrell | Falcon FG | 3 | 01:21:2486 | 59:12:6468 | 37 | 69 |
| 13 | TeamVodafone | Jamie Whincup | Commodore VE2 | 3 | 01:20:3563 | 59:13:2633 | 37 | 66 |
| 14 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Russell Ingall | Commodore VE2 | 3 | 01:22:3579 | 59:13:4679 | 37 | 63 |
| 15 | Lucky 7 Racing | Tim Slade | Falcon FG | 2 | 01:22:7595 | 59:15:3527 | 37 | 60 |
| 16 | Irwin Racing | Alex Davison | Falcon FG | 18 | 01:23:7642 | 59:17:6503 | 37 | 57 |
| 17 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Lee Holdsworth | Commodore VE2 | 5 | 01:23:2068 | 59:18:7528 | 37 | 54 |
| 18 | Stratco Racing | David Reynolds | Commodore VE2 | 2 | 01:21:7357 | 59:21:0900 | 37 | 51 |
| 19 | Team BOC | Andrew Jones | Commodore VE2 | 4 | 01:24:1803 | 59:21:1340 | 37 | 48 |
| 20 | Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing | Karl Reindler | Commodore VE2 | 5 | 01:24:3775 | 59:23:1987 | 37 | 45 |
| 20 | Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing | Karl Reindler | Commodore VE2 | 5 | 01:24:3775 | 59:23:1987 | 37 | 45 |
| 21 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Michael Caruso | Commodore VE2 | 5 | 01:24:3246 | 59:25:3957 | 37 | 42 |
| 22 | Gulf Western Oil Racing | Warren Luff | Commodore VE2 | 3 | 01:23:3894 | 59:30:2089 | 37 | 39 |
| 23 | Jim Beam Racing | Steven Johnson | Falcon FG | 5 | 01:24:4642 | 59:24:0083 | 36 | 36 |
| DNF | Jim Beam Racing | James Moffat | Falcon FG | 5 | 01:23:4111 | 53:33:3677 | 33 | 0 |
| DNF | Triple F Racing | Dean Fiore | Falcon FG | 4 | 01:23:3498 | 53:34:4184 | 33 | 0 |
| DNF | Jana Living Racing | Jason Bargwanna | Commodore VE2 | 5 | 01:23:3822 | 44:08:8312 | 28 | 0 |
| DNF | Pepsi Max Crew | Greg Murphy | Commodore VE2 | 3 | 01:21:9609 | 30:59:4862 | 20 | 0 |
| DNF | Wilson Security Racing | Tony D’Alberto | Falcon FG | 4 | 01:24:5235 | 17:45:3799 | 11 | 0 |
