Heimgartner buoyed by Kelly direction

Andre Heimgartner has taken optimism from the potential displayed by his Kelly Racing team’s new engine package run by stablemate Rick Kelly at The Bend last weekend.

Kelly debuted the lightened Ford engine at the OTR SuperSprint. While results weren’t drastic – ninth being the Castrol Mustang’s best qualifying and race result across the round – there were positive signs.

“We had the new engine in Rick’s car and a new philosophy I guess in that car and it seemed to show potential,” Heimgartner said post-event on Fox Sports.

“That’s really exciting going into the next round, we’ll look at that and try to get a good plan going forward.”

Heimgartner is due to receive a lightened engine of his own in the NED Racing #7 ahead of the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, held on October 15-18.

The 25-year-old Kiwi reserved particular thanks for team owner Todd Kelly for his hard work on the engine front.

“Todd has done an amazing job,” he said.

“I think my engine has almost done 5000km so it’s an old warhorse and that’s really good out of the box for it to be that long.

“Todd especially has got a massive two weeks assembling an engine, dyno-ing it, all that sort of stuff getting ready for [Bathurst] weekend and also they have got to check over Rick’s engine that it’s fine, but it’s all positive.

“In times like this where there’s such limited numbers, to have the team owner as also the engine guy and a tuner and everything, it’s a good advantage.”

Having placed second for the round on The Bend’s International Circuit the previous weekend, Heimgartner now is 14th in the championship after finishes of 14th, 10th and 14th at the OTR SuperSprint.

He will be joined by talented rookie Dylan O’Keeffe for the Great Race next month.