REYNOLDS “VERY HAPPY” WITH RETURN TO KELLY’S

David Reynolds “very happy” with return to Kelly’s – Image: Supplied

Freshly signed Kelly Grove Racing recruit David Reynolds has expressed his delight to be working alongside his 2017 Bathurst 1000 winning engineer Alistair McVean and former Erebus crew chief Dennis Huijser this season.

By DAN McCARTHY

Despite all exiting Erebus separately in 2020, the trio find themselves working together at Kelly Grove Racing.

These three are not the only Erebus staff members to depart the team, as former #99 driver Anton de Pasquale and his engineer Mirko de Rosa have also left.

McVean and Reynolds worked together for five years at Erebus from 2016-2020 and in that time achieved four race wins, including the famous Bathurst 1000 victory with Luke Youlden.

Reynolds is thrilled that he will be working alongside McVean in 2021 and believes that this will make for a smoother and more successful transition into Kelly Grove Racing.

“It doesn’t feel like I’m starting afresh, it feels like I’m just adding into something that has already been built and something that is already there,” Reynolds told Auto Action.

“If you look at it from the outside, it looks like I’ve followed them (McVean and Huijser) across, as they started here a few months ago.

“To have that consistency and to have your engineer, which is basically your partner in crime along for the journey is great.”

Reynolds previously drove for Kelly Racing back in 2011 when the squad ran Holden Commodores, the now 35-year-old is impressed with the progress that the team has made since then.

“It’s been a whirlwind of a time for me the last couple of months, but I’m happy to be here and to obviously get the deal. Driving a Ford Mustang with some of the key people from my last team is awesome, I’m very, very, very, very happy, very, very happy,” Reynolds said.

“There’s a few people at Kelly Racing still here from when I left 10 years ago, so the rapport is already there, I’m really happy that it has all come together.

“The team has grown massively, its presence, its values and everything is so much more aligned with myself and I’m very, very thankful to be part of the fold.

“I have to thank Rick Kelly (for retiring). He’s like my Jesus, he’s my saviour.”

Todd Kelly described signing Reynolds as completing the puzzle of such a well-established trio.

“Dave was still in his contract with Erebus and we were crystal clear with him and his manager, we said, unless you’re a free agent we’re not talking to you guys about it, not until you’re clear,” Kelly told AA.

“We had Al and Dennis working here for a month before I even had my first conversation with Dave and his manager about driving here.”

The 2005 Bathurst winner Kelly reflected on how much Reynolds has changed since he walked out the workshop a decade ago.

“I think Dave made the right call back then when he left, and I think he’s turned out to be a much more complete driver and a better person with what he’s been through,” he said.

“The Dave that walked back in the door today is a completely different Dave than we had back in 2011.”

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