Rick Kelly takes Kelly Racing’s first V8 win

Rick Kelly has scored Kelly Racing’s first victory in the V8 Supercars Championship, winning a wet Race 5 at the ITM400 Hamilton.

Jack Daniel’s Racing’s Kelly beat home TeamVodafone driver Craig Lowndes and team-mate and older brother Todd.

Todd was forced to hold off a gallant Mark Winterbottom in the closing stages.

Rounding out the top 10 was James Courtney (Toll Holden Racing Team), Steve Johnson (Jim Beam Racing), Will Davison (Trading Post FPR), Greg Murphy (Pepsi Max Crew), Fabian Coulthard and James Moffat (Jim Beam Racing).

The win was Rick Kelly’s first since Oran Park in 2008.

For championship leader Jamie Whincup, an error on new slick tyres on a cold, greasy track cost him dearly. The two-time champion collected the concrete wall at the exit of pit lane, dropping him down a number of laps.

Despite the difficult conditions during the opening, the first Safety Car did not appear until Lap 29 when the Lucky 7 Racing Falcon Tim Slade slid off the circuit at high-speed and hit a tyre bundle.

Slade’s incident was one of two Safety Car periods, with a errant door skin on the front straight late in the race causing the other yellow period.

The rain produced unpredictable conditions, but besides Slade’s accident, the most damage happened in pit lane.

Shane van Gisbergen, Garth Tander, Michael Caruso and Craig Lowndes all made errors at the pit booms, knocking over a few of their crew members. There is an injury concern for Tander’s mechanic who was taken to hospital with a suspected broken hand.

See results below …

1	Jack Daniel’s Racing	Rick Kelly	Holden Commodore VE2	59	01:38:27.0660
2	TeamVodafone	Craig Lowndes	Holden Commodore VE2	59	01:38:28.3793
3	Jack Daniel’s Racing	Todd Kelly	Holden Commodore VE2	59	01:38:34.9911
4	Orrcon Steel FPR Falcon	Mark Winterbottom	Ford Falcon FG	59	01:38:35.5377
5	Toll Holden Racing Team	James Courtney	Holden Commodore VE2	59	01:38:41.0770
6	Jim Beam Racing	Steven Johnson	Ford Falcon FG	59	01:38:42.5037
7	Trading Post FPR Falcon	Will Davison	Ford Falcon FG	59	01:38:44.2947
8	Bundaberg Racing	Fabian Coulthard	Holden Commodore VE2	59	01:38:45.5244
9	Pepsi Max Crew	Greg Murphy	Holden Commodore VE2	59	01:38:46.2665
10	Jim Beam Racing	James Moffat	Ford Falcon FG	59	01:38:48.0028
11	Irwin Racing	Alex Davison	Ford Falcon FG	59	01:38:50.6340
12	Wilson Security Racing	Tony D’Alberto	Ford Falcon FG	59	01:38:59.1030
13	Jana Living Racing	Jason Bargwanna	Holden Commodore VE2	59	01:39:53.5429
14	Supercheap Auto Racing	Russell Ingall	Holden Commodore VE2	58	01:38:38.9748
15	Fujitsu Racing GRM	Michael Caruso	Holden Commodore VE2	58	01:38:42.0123
16	SP Tools Racing	Shane Van Gisbergen	Ford Falcon FG	58	01:38:47.2927
17	Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing	Karl Reindler	Holden Commodore VE2	58	01:38:48.1784
18	Toll Holden Racing Team	Garth Tander	Holden Commodore VE2	58	01:38:49.8200
19	Team BOC	Jason Bright	Holden Commodore VE2	58	01:38:51.0034
20	VIP Petfoods	Steve Owen	Holden Commodore VE2	58	01:38:53.4746
21	Triple F Racing	Dean Fiore	Ford Falcon FG	57	01:38:49.0037
22	Fujitsu Racing GRM	Lee Holdsworth	Holden Commodore VE2	57	01:39:09.6277
23	TeamVodafone	Jamie Whincup	Holden Commodore VE2	56	01:38:55.2733
24	Stratco Racing	David Reynolds	Holden Commodore VE2	52	01:39:03.2430
DNF	Lucky 7 Racing	Tim Slade	Ford Falcon FG	26	41:21.8233
DNF	Mother Energy Racing Team	Jonathon Webb	Ford Falcon FG	22	33:41.8310
DNF	Gulf Western Oil Racing	Warren Luff	Holden Commodore VE2	14	22:21.0225