Season in Review: Rick Kelly

1. What was your best race?

Probably Tassie when we finished fourth and fourth is obviously not the result you chase but it has been a difficult track for us in the years prior with the car and the way it works and for us to overcome that and change the trend of that track was a great achievement.

2. Most disappointing race?

Bathurst, it’s the biggest one we all go to and we all want the best result. It’s the first time I’ve made a significant mistake at that event in 16 years and it happens at that sort of track for sure, but having such a solid record at that place it was definitely something I let myself down with.

3. Best on-track battle?

It’s been a really tough year for us there isn’t really a battle that sticks out. In todays racing you are always looking after the tyre and concreting on that and trying not to get involved in someone else's battle, so I don’t have one that sticks out.

4. Best off-track memory or experience?

The Bathurst road trip is always a lot of fun with Todd and Matty Campbell and Kate Peck. Good photos and memories from that, it makes the event a pretty good week for us and it’s a fair bit of fun.

5. Best performance by another driver?

I think the one guy who has punched above his weight in a smaller team is Scotty McLaughlin he’s a great young personality and talent in our sport and for him to finish third in the championship I think it’s a huge stand out.

6. What was your goal at the start of the season and how did that play out?

It was to make a solid improvement year on year and set ourselves up so this year we are more of a series contender and it has not played out that way. At the start of 2016 we had a few small dramas that have hindered the performance of the car and taken a step back. That’s life and it comes down to how you bounce back from that.

7. What was the team’s biggest achievement for in 2016?

The first place result from Michael Caruso in Darwin. At Darwin the way the guy ran qualifying and ran the race was nothing short of impressive and he absolutely got the most of out the package. They did everything 100% well and it was really pleasing to watch and it’s a credit to those guys how they went about it.

8. What was the biggest news story of 2016?

Ludo Leaving Red Bull after such a long time. As an outsider he was such a key part of that organisation.

9. Who do you think will improve the most in 2017?

I certainly hope it’s going to be us we are pretty hell bent on changing what we need to change to achieve what we want to achieve. I have my head down and backside up, as does everyone else in the team to make sure the answer is us.

10. What are you most looking forward to in 2017?

Getting back to the point where I really enjoy the racing again. It’s something I’ve done for a long time and you always want to win and when you get tougher results it makes it quite difficult to enjoy the fact that we have one of the best jobs in the world and that is because you care so much about winning. We want to get back to where we belong which is further up the front which as a driver and a team we believe in.