Motorsport: Wet and wild win for R Kelly

Rick Kelly motored over the finish line to take first place in a race made hair-raisingly dangerous and challenging by continual downpours and sunstrike. Photo / Getty Images

In a typical V8 Supercars race, a driver's heartbeat rarely goes below 180. Yesterday in Hamilton it would have been closer to 280 as drivers battled incredibly challenging conditions.

The bare facts are that Rick Kelly led from start to finish to record a deserved win, with Craig Lowndes finishing strongly in second and Kelly's older brother Todd coming home third.

But the bare facts don't reflect the drama and danger. The race was stopped twice after crashes, there were several mishaps in the pit lane and almost constant rain. There was also wicked glare from the sun towards the end of the 59 laps, prompting many drivers to say at times they could barely see.

Lowndes labelled it a "crazy race" while Fabian Coulthard said conditions were a "recipe for disaster".

Coulthard was the best of the Kiwis in eighth place, with Greg Murphy one spot further back. Shane van Gisbergen was on fire at the start, moving into second to challenge Rick Kelly, but got his tyre strategy all wrong and faded to finish 16th.

Jamie Whincup has been unbeatable in Hamilton but had a wretched race yesterday, finishing 23rd. After starting on pole, he had lost four places by the first corner and a schoolboy error when exiting the pit lane later cost him any chance of being in contention.

In the end it came down to a five-lap sprint. After a second safety car stop on lap 53, the Kelly brothers were lined up with Lowndes just behind. Lowndes surprised Todd at the first corner after the re-start, and the 1999 champion set off in pursuit of Rick. He couldn't quite catch him, however, and the number 15 car flashed home just ahead.

"It's a great way to win our first race for Kelly Racing with trying conditions and different pit strategies and wet and dry conditions," said 27-year-old Rick. "It's been a tough couple of years starting from scratch but our guys have worked so hard and it's one heck of an effort - we are pretty stoked."

It was Rick's 10th V8 Supercars win and the first since 2008 for the 2006 series champion. Kelly had been cruising, more than five seconds ahead and in control, before the safety car made the last few laps a nailbiter.

"The last thing you want to hear on the radio with five or six laps to go with a five-second lead is a safety car. If it wasn't for that we would have been first and second.

"The second-last time I won [in any Supercars race] was at Pukekohe. It's good to come back to New Zealand and win again."

Rick Kelly managed an audacious move from the start, with an inside-outside shuffle that saw him leap from fourth to the lead by the first corner. Whincup was hesitant off the start to slip from pole to fifth.

"I sneaked up the start and wasn't sure if I was going to take two people out on the corner because the others seem to be going slower than I expected," said Rick. "We got a five-second gap in the dry which was great."

Van Gisbergen stayed in fourth but soon sent the crowd wild with slick passing manoeuvres past Steven Johnson and Garth Tander to set off in pursuit of Rick. Van Gisbergen was looking good in second place before a regrettable incident the first time he came into the pits.

The young Kiwi overshot his garage, skidding metres past the waiting mechanics. This saw him lose valuable time, through his error was put in perspective by a schoolboy mistake by Whincup just moments earlier.

After duelling with Garth Tander, Whincup came into pit lane on lap 14. As he exited after a tyre change, he inexplicably collided with the edge of the track wall, damaging his steering column. That meant a second visit to the garage and his podium chances effectively over.

Whincup looked out of sorts for race one and yesterday's result puts real heat on him. He collected only 36 championship points and now sits on 603. Mark Winterbottom (543), Craig Lowndes (474) and Rick Kelly (471) have all made up valuable ground on the two-time champion.

Defending champion James Courtney will also take heart from his fifth-place finish, collecting 111 points to move into ninth place (391) on the ladder and in touch with the leaders.

Tim Slade, Jonathon Webb and Warren Luff all failed to finish yesterday's race.