Toll HSV Dealer Team’s Rick Kelly and Garth Tander battled both the elements and impatient rivals to finish third and fourth respectively and bring home a handy swag of points in a wet Race 1 at Winton.
The pair were both on the receiving end of some rough-house driving, with Tander being punted out of the lead on lap 2, and Kelly being pushed aside by James Courtney on the final lap.
In karma for Kelly, officials ruled that the Courtney “pass” happened under yellows – and gave the Ford driver a post-race penalty, re-elevating Kelly to third place behind winner Jamie Whincup and second-placed Steven Richards.
Tander, however, had to recover track position the hard way, battling his way back up through the field to fourth from 10th place after being sent slitering on to the grass on lap 2.
His job wasn’t made any easier when the team had to bring both Kelly and Tander in for tyres in a double pit stop under safety car conditions, meaning Tander had to wait a few seconds for Kelly’s car to get four new tyres and clear the pit bay.
However, he fought back, passing Craig Lowndes and other rivals to arrive on Rick Kelly’s tail in the closing stages of the race.
Like race winner Jamie Whincup, Kelly and Tander ran the entire race on wet weather tyres – a useful call in the Winton weather tyre lottery.
However, the drivers such as Richards who elected to switch to dry-weather slicks on the drying track closed the gap over the last couple of laps, making for an exciting finish.
Tander started from second on the grid after being balked in his top 10 hot lap, while Kelly worked his way up from seventh on the grid.
Numerous drivers speared off the track - some “helped” and others of their own accord - in the slippery conditions after the race started in rain.
While the rain stopped almost as soon as the race started, wet-weather tyres ruled the track for at least three-quarters of the 40 laps.
After that, it was a matter of hanging on and trying to stay ahead of rivals on slicks.
Kelly and Tander were rewarded with 17 points and 15 points respectively, helping them to extend their 1-2 lead in the 2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series. Kelly has moved out to 190 points, while Tander is now on 175 points.
Third-placed Todd Kelly failed to score any points yesterday, and remains on 132 points, just four points ahead of yesterday’s winner Whincup.
With a dry track expected for Sunday’s Race 2 and Race 3, the Toll HSV pair are well placed to capitalise on their Race 1 efforts when they start from the second row of the grid.
#1 Rick Kelly (Race 1 – 3rd, 17 points): “We have a couple of panels around the back to replace, but it was a good race for us. We had a bit of a problem with a wiper about mid race when it failed, and it was very difficult to see where the drying line was. A couple of times I missed it, but luckily kept it on the track. I was pretty confident we were going to hold on to second, but Richo (Steven Richards) was like a flash and I didn’t see him until he was in front. ”
#16 Garth Tander (Race 1 – 4th, 15 points): “The story is that I got punted out of the lead and then lost track position while I waited for Rick in the pits. That was that. ”
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