Getting two Ford Mustangs onto the grid for the start of the 2020 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship will have been a win in itself for Kelly Racing. Then the team that’s previously run Holden Commodores and Nissan Altimas will be determined to turn all that hard work into results on the race track.
The Victorian-based team switches from the Altima to the Mustang in addition to downsizing from four to two entries in 2020. Despite the contraction, the off-season workload increased with the build of the new Mustangs in addition to an in-house Ford engine program.
This story is from the February - March 2020 edition of V8X Supercar Magazine.
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This story is from the February - March 2020 edition of V8X Supercar Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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1960 – 2020 TOP 60 DRIVERS
Who are the greatest drivers in the 60-year history of the Australian Touring Car Championship/Supercars? We rank the top 60 with an emphasis on best championship finishes, race-winning percentage and competitive longevity. Only drivers with top 10 championship finishes were considered, to emphasise championship performances over part-time or endurance campaigns. Also, results from the Bathurst 1000 and other endurance events were only factored in when they were part of the championship.
TOP END TALENT
Twenty-one-year-old Bryce Fullwood will become the first Northern Territorian to race in front of his home crowd as a full-time driver in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship when the main game visits Darwin in July. But, even more remarkably, Fullwood wasn’t even born the last time Walkinshaw Andretti United (formerly the Holden Racing Team) ran a rookie in one of its entries back in 1997.
HOLDEN IN MEMORIAM
From saddlery manufacturing in Adelaide in 1856, Holden grew into an Australian automotive giant. The news of its impending demise wasn’t unexpected, given its dwindling sales in recent years, but it was still felt acutely not only within Supercars but across Australia. This is the story of Holden’s journey in Australian touring cars, from the formative years to the present.
ENDURO MOVERS
The field for the 2020 PIRTEK Enduro Cup is taking shape with the offseason moves headlined by reigning Bathurst 1000-winning co-driver Alexandre Prémat finding a new home at Tickford Racing.
THE DARK HORSE
In a season of massive driver change, Kelly Racing is the only team to switch manufacturers. Now equipped with the Ford Mustang, the streamlined two-car team shapes as a real dark horse this season.
JACK BE QUICK
After championship wins in the Kumho Tyre Australian V8 Touring Car Series and New Zealand V8 Touring Cars, three seasons in the Dunlop Super2 Series, four main-game wildcard rounds and a PIRTEK Enduro Cup campaign, Jack Smith graduates into the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship with Brad Jones Racing in 2020.
EXPANSION & CELEBRATION
The 2020 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship marks the 20th anniversary of Brad Jones Racing’s arrival in the category. And the team celebrates the milestone with an expansion to four entries, cementing its place in Supercars as the oldest team not to have had an ownership change since its arrival.
BETTING ON 18
Thirty-year-old Scott Pye joins his fourth Virgin Australia Supercars Championship team when he links with an expanded Team 18 in 2020, pairing with Mark Winterbottom in the Charlie Schwerkolt-owned team in his bid to find a long-term home.
AS THE DECADES ROLL ON...
With the Australian Touring Car Championship/Virgin Australia Supercars Championship celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2020, we look back at the decade-on years in the history of the sport.
Right On Track
REFLECTING BACK
