KELLY RACING MAKE FORD SWITCH

Kelly Racing make Ford switch – Photo: Supplied

Supercars will return to a straight Ford versus Holden battle next year following confirmation that Kelly Racing is dumping its Nissans for Mustangs.

By MARK FOGARTY

Along with the switch, KR will cut back from four to two cars for the first time since 2012.

The change means Supercars will revert to its traditional two-make rivalry, with only Commodores and Mustangs on the grid in 2020.

It will be the first time in seven years that at least one other make hasn’t taken part.

The Car Of The Future initiative attracted factory-backed Nissan Altimas and privately funded Mercedes AMG E63s alongside the Commodore and Falcon in 2013, joined a year later by factory Volvo S60s.

Volvo pulled out after three seasons and Erebus Motorsport ditched its expensive AMGs in 2016.

Nissan continued backing Kelly Racing until the end of 2018, with the team soldiering on with four increasingly uncompetitive Altimas.

In seven years, Nissan Motorsport Australia/KR won just three races and finished on the podium at Bathurst once.

The family-owned team has bowed to the inevitable and decided to scale back to two Mustangs, joining DJR Team Penske and Tickford Racing with the pacesetting two-door coupe.

“We are excited for the future now we have confirmed the team will run Ford Mustangs in 2020. After 11 seasons in Supercars we step into a Ford Mustang that is a proven race winner and will provide us with our best opportunity for success in the future.” said Todd Kelly, Team Principal for Kelly Racing.

“In this competitive environment it has necessitated a reconsideration of our structure to create the optimal model for the future. This has resulted in our consolidation and focus on two Supercars for the 2020 season and our intention includes running two Dunlop Super2 entries from next year.”

“We are grateful to Kay Hart and her team at Ford for their interest and support to work with Kelly Racing and we look forward to continuing their success both on and off the race track from next year.”

With support from Ford Australia and Ford Performance, Kelly Racing will develop its own five-litre Ford V8.

The likely driver survivors of the KR cull are team co-owner Rick Kelly and Andre Heimgartner, with Simona de Silvestro and Garry Jacobson looking elsewhere to stay in Supercars next year.

Kelly Racing’s move to its third make in 11 years – starting with Holden before landing the Nissan deal – will mean there will be eight Mustangs in the field in 2020, with the rest ZB Commodores.

If the grid stays at 24 cars, Mustangs will be outnumbered two-to-one by Commodores.

“We’re so glad to have Kelly Racing bringing two additional Mustang Supercars to the grid, giving our fans more great news on the back of a fantastic 2019 season so far,” said Kay Hart, President and CEO, Ford Australia and New Zealand.

“Having more Mustangs racing next season is a reflection of the team’s hard work and the success of the program so far.”

The Mustang has made a stunning debut this season in Supercars, taking the manufacturers crown and Bathurst 1000, while DJR Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin holds a commanding lead in the Supercars Championship.

“Working with Kelly Racing builds on the already fruitful partnership we have with Shell V-Power Racing and Tickford Racing,” said Mark Rushbrook, Global Director, Ford Performance Motorsports.

“Kelly Racing has an impressive pedigree in terms of both engineering and their driver talent, and we see its switch to Mustang as an opportunity to combine their highly skilled outfit with Ford Performance DNA.”

Kelly Racing’s Ford Mustangs will debut at the season-opening Adelaide 500, February 20-23, 2020.

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