- Rick Kelly rises to 12th place in 2013 V8 Supercars Championship standings following four top 10 race finishes in #15 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima
- The inaugural Austin 400 draws 68,891 spectators over three days
AUSTIN, United States – Nissan Motorsport driver Rick Kelly has vaulted himself into 12th place in the V8 Supercars Championship after his best event of the 2013 season.
At the stunning Circuit of the Americas facility in Austin, Texas, Kelly used the 'home ground advantage' in his Nissan Altima to take four top 10 race results, including two fifth place qualifying efforts and a sixth place race finish.
The results are the best qualifying and race results so far in Nissan's return to top-level Australian motorsport.
The improving pace of the new V8 Supercars entrant has confirmed the Nissan Altima as an emerging threat in the V8 Supercars Championship.
Adding to Rick's top 10 haul was a 10th place finish for James Moffat in Saturday's second race.
Other encouraging results included top 10 qualifying results for Todd Kelly (ninth for Sunday's first race) and Michael Caruso (ninth for Sunday's second race).
The Austin 400 was the first event for the championship in North America, with organisers announcing that a crowd of 68,891 spectators flocked to the Circuit of The Americas over the three days.
It was also significant for Nissan Motorsport as the Altima was originally designed and constructed in the United States of America. The car is one of America's most popular road vehicles and will come to Australian roads in the fourth quarter of this year.
The next event of the 2013 V8 Supercars Championship will be held at Darwin's Hidden Valley Raceway on June 14-16.
QUOTES & RESULTS
Rick Kelly – #15 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima:
Qualifying Race 13: 10th
Result Race 13: 6th
Qualifying Race 14: 6th
Result Race 14: 8th
Qualifying Race 15: 5th
Result Race 15: 9th
Qualifying Race 16: 5th
Result Race 16: 8th
“To find some points this weekend and do our best to stay out of trouble whilst we've got such a great car is very exciting,” said Rick Kelly.
“The team have worked so hard to deliver this project, it's really good to be able to deliver that solid result for them and they should hold their head high with that.
“We've got a great team, the Altima was fantastic all weekend, so we tuned it really well, all the stops were great, everything really went to plan this weekend.
“Obviously the straight line is still hurting us here and the other frustrating thing is we got ran off three out of the four races by the same guy and not much has been done about that, which is a little disappointing.
“All in all we've got to really happy with that and we learnt so much. The next round might be a little bit tougher for us, but I'm really glad we made some good progress while we had the car to do it.”
James Moffat – #360 Norton 360 Nissan Altima:
Qualifying Race 13: 16th (plus five grid spot penalty)
Result Race 13: 16th
Qualifying Race 14: 10th
Result Race 14: 10th
Qualifying Race 15: 14th
Result Race 15: 17th
Qualifying Race 16: 22nd
Result Race 16: 14th
“We just dropped the ball today. We qualified poorly, had a few issues in Qualifying 1, which led into Qualifying 2,” said James Moffat.
“We just lost the balance of the car overnight, thinking we were doing the right things but they didn't work.
“When you qualify 22nd for the last race, it's so hard to recover. I got turned around and I was in last place for a bit. The Safety Car did help us, but I'm frustrated, because I feel like we haven't really ended it the way we should have.
“The positive for today is that I managed to collect two mid-field finishes. We ticked the points over, but I would have liked a few more.”
Todd Kelly – #7 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima:
Qualifying Race 13: 17th
Result Race 13: 25th
Qualifying Race 14: 16th
Result Race 14: 16th
Qualifying Race 15: 9th
Result Race 15: 14th
Qualifying Race 16: 15th
Result Race 16: 19th
“It wasn't that good a run in qualifying for that second session so I started back a bit and we're just so vulnerable at the start of the race and in the opening laps on restarts at the moment, but once everything settles in the cars are really quite unbelievable,” said Todd Kelly.
“Overall it's good in some ways and quite disappointing in others, the pace that we've got with the deficiency we've got in other areas is outstanding, so there's a huge amount of potential there.
“I'd go as far as saying that Rick would have near been on the front row if we had the amount of time that everyone else has to develop the engine, so a huge amount of potential and when we get that sorted out it will be a really good package.”
Michael Caruso – #360 Norton 360 Nissan Altima:
Qualifying Race 13: 25th
Result Race 13: 20th
Qualifying Race 14: 14th
Result Race 14: 15th
Qualifying Race 15: 18th
Result Race 15: 15
Qualifying Race 16: 9th
Result Race 16: 24th
“It's very frustrating. We had an extremely good car, which was displayed in the last race where I qualified ninth,” said Michael Caruso.
“The lap time that I could do in that second race was pretty good, so it's frustrating because we were running strong.
“Getting taken out is a never nice. We're going through a rough patch at the moment, but the positives are that the speed is there. We just need a little bit of luck to go our way, and hopefully it's just around the corner.”
RESULTS: Austin 400
Circuit of The Americas, Austin, Texas, United States of America
RESULTS: Race 13
1. Jamie Whincup
2. Craig Lowndes
3. Fabian Coulthard
4. Will Davison
5. Garth Tander
6. Rick Kelly (#15 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima)
7. Jonathon Webb
8. Mark Winterbottom
9. James Courtney
10. David Wall
16. James Moffat (#360 Norton 360 Nissan Altima)
20. Michael Caruso (#36 Norton 360 Nissan Altima)
25. Todd Kelly (#7 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima)
RESULTS: Race 14
1. Jamie Whincup
2. Craig Lowndes
3. Fabian Coulthard
4. Jonathon Webb
5. Shane Van Gisbergen
6. Mark Winterbottom
7. Scott McLaughlin
8. Rick Kelly (#15 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima)
9. Will Davison
10. James Moffat (#360 Norton 360 Nissan Altima)
15. Michael Caruso (#36 Norton 360 Nissan Altima)
16. Todd Kelly (#7 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima)
RESULTS: Race 15
1. Fabian Coulthard
2. Craig Lowndes
3. Jamie Whincup
4. Jonathon Webb
5. Shane Van Gisbergen
6. Garth Tander
7. Mark Winterbottom
8. Jason Bright
9. Rick Kelly (#15 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima)
10. James Courtney
14. Todd Kelly (#7 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima)
15. Michael Caruso (#36 Norton 360 Nissan Altima)
17. James Moffat (#360 Norton 360 Nissan Altima)
RESULTS: Race 16
1. Jamie Whincup
2. Fabian Coulthard
3. Shane Van Gisbergen
4. Garth Tander
5. Craig Lowndes
6. Mark Winterbottom
7. Jason Bright
8. Rick Kelly (#15 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima)
9. Jonathon Webb
10. James Courtney
14. James Moffat (#360 Norton 360 Nissan Altima)
19. Todd Kelly (#7 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima)
24. Michael Caruso (#36 Norton 360 Nissan Altima)
2013 V8 SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP
Driver Standings after Race 16
1. Jamie Whincup 1247
2. Craig Lowndes 1105
3. Will Davison 1029
4. Fabian Coulthard 984
5. Jason Bright 945
6. Shane Van Gisbergen 907
7. Garth Tander 888
8. Mark Winterbottom 861
9. James Courtney 825
10. Jonathon Webb 768
12. Rick Kelly 651 (#15 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima)
13. James Moffat 638 (#360 Norton 360 Nissan Altima)
22. Michael Caruso 398 (#36 Norton 360 Nissan Altima)
26. Todd Kelly 328 (#7 Jack Daniel's Nissan Altima)
About Nissan Motor Co.
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Japan's second-largest automotive company, is headquartered in Yokohama,
Japan, and is part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Operating with more than 267,000 employees globally,
Nissan provided customers with more than 4.9 million vehicles and generated revenue of 9.6 trillion yen
(USD 116.16 billion) in fiscal 2012. Nissan delivers a comprehensive range of over 60 models under the
Nissan and Infiniti brands. In 2010, Nissan introduced the Nissan LEAF, and continues to lead in
zero-emission mobility. The LEAF, the first mass-market, pure-electric vehicle launched globally, is now the
best-selling EV in history.
For more information please visit:
Nissan Australia YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/NissanAustralia
Nissan Australia Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NissanAustralia
Nissan Australia Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Nissan_Aus
Nissan Global: http://reports.nissan-global.com/EN/
Nissan Newsroom: http://www.nissan-newsroom.com/EN/
Nissan Channel 23 Blog: http://blog.nissan-global.com/EN/