Drivers prepare for Clipsal at Kangaroo Island

Nissan Motorsport duo Rick Kelly and Michael Caruso experienced South Australia from a different angle this week when they visited Australian tourism icon Kangaroo Island in the lead up to the 2015 Clipsal 500 Adelaide.

With less than two weeks to the opening race of the 2015 V8 Supercars season, teammates Kelly and Caruso didn't miss an opportunity to get a psychological edge over each other when they competed in a series of speed challenges across the Island.

Nissan Motorsport team owner and V8 Supercar driver Rick Kelly said competition between the pair is always fierce whether it's a game of pool, quad biking around the pristine wilderness of Kangaroo Island, or in a V8 Supercar.

"It is competitive there's no doubt about that, it's what we live for, so chucking us on a couple of quad bikes and letting us loose, the first thing we want to do is win. The competition is what drives us so this trip has been a lot of fun and I feel ready to attack the Clipsal 500," Kelly said.

"From a driver's point of view there's two trophies I care about having my name on and that's the Clipsal 500 trophy and the Peter Brock trophy at Bathurst," he said.

Teammate Michael Caruso said without a lot of hours in the car this time of year it's good to get the blood pumping and take it to the edge even if it's racing on four-wheels of a different kind.

"Let us loose on some dirt with an engine underneath us and it's going to be plenty of fun. I loved the quad biking, it's unpredictable and gives you a massive adrenaline pump and that's exactly what I expect when I line-up on the grid for the Clipsal 500," Caruso said.

Tourism Minister Leon Bignell said it was fantastic for the drivers to experience another iconic South Australian tourist destination in the lead up to the Clipsal 500 Adelaide.

"The 2014 race attracted 11,818 international and interstate visitors to our wonderful state and we're expecting another influx of travelers to come and experience our famous street circuit and other South Australian tourism destinations like Kangaroo Island and McLaren Vale," Mr Bignell said.

Clipsal 500 fans won't have to wait long to see Kelly and Caruso battle it out on the Adelaide street circuit with less than two weeks to go until the big event, which includes seven action packed race categories and an impressive off-track entertainment program headlined by the return of legendary Australian rock band, Cold Chisel.