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Rick desperate to turn Championship around

13 Jun 2014
2006 Champion Kelly looks to repeat previous success in Darwin and feature towards the front of the field.
4 mins by James Pavey
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Rick Kelly is looking to repeat previous success in Darwin and feature towards the front of the field next weekend, as the V8 Supercars head to the SKYCITY Triple Crown.

The Jack Daniel's racer and 2006 Champion earned fifth place at the event last year,registering the highest race finish for a Nissan after joining the Championship at the start of 2013. Kelly has two wins (2004 and '11) and an ARMOR ALL Pole Position to his name at Hidden Valley - and he is hoping the trip to the Top End will turn things around as the mid-point of the 2014 V8 Supercars season approaches.

"It's a round that we enjoy, I managed to get into the Top 10 Shootout last year, which was good, and our aim is to get a solid result this time as well," Kelly said ahead of the SKYCITY Triple Crown.

"We're looking to turn our Championship around -we've had some tough days out there this year and a lot of bad luck, for us we want to head towards the pointy end."

Kelly currently sits 18th in the points, six positions lower than this point last year, after 16 races, but is keen to get back out on track after the team's first independent test day of the year last week.

"We've had a fair break in between Perth and Darwin, which has been very good for the team; we managed to get in our first true test day of year,obviously we had the season opening test day at Sydney Motorsport Park, but it was our first day at Winton.

"It was a good chance to try a lot of things that we had been working on over the last few months.

"The race meetings have been pretty tight on practice track time this year, so it's been good to go to Winton and take a few big risks with setup and find some further direction in a few areas that have been important to us."

The Darwin event always puts a spring in the step of drivers and teams alike, particularly for the Victorian-based crews who get the chance to see a spot of sunshine.

"I love heading up to Darwin, there's a great atmosphere around town, I don't think there is a team member or driver in pit lane who doesn't enjoy the trip to the Top End," Kelly said.

"The whole experience around the event, the whole saturation that V8 Supercars have throughout the city is second to none anywhere we travel in the country."

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Teammate and brother Todd has also stood on the top step at the Hidden Valley round in the past, having chalked up three victories in consecutive races -the final race in 2004 and first two of 2005.

"It's been a little while unfortunately since we've had a win in Darwin, but it's just one of those places that you really look forward to going to, especially at this time of the year when we are wearing five layers of clothes here in Melbourne!" he said.

"You get up to Darwin and it's just a whole different world, the track has been good to us in the past and it's a place I enjoy driving around quite a lot."

Todd felt the nature of the 2.9km track meant the team would learn plenty about the Nissan Altimas.

"It will be interesting to see how we end up; whether the new aero package gives us a good enough gain to make us a bit more competitive, or whether the engine side of things is still a little bit of a hindrance on that long straight.

"We've probably got one of the slowest corners leading onto one of the longest straights we will see in a while in our series.

"It will really show us where we're at, where our weaknesses are and where our strengths are.

"I can't wait to get there and try and get some of that success that we've had in the past at that event."

The SKYCITY Triple Crown runs from June 20-22 with tickets available now.

There's a great entertainment line-up for fans, including Tinie Tempah headlining the weekend's concerts, playing Sunday night with Violent Soho, and The Angels and Baby Animals on-stage Saturday night.

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