Kelly Racing Cars are always featured in Bathurst 1000, including this year’s race, which is taking place between October 15-18 at the Mount Panorama Circuit.
Toddy Kelly is looking forward to having his team’s engine weight reduced, especially for the Ford Mustang pair, to make them the most stable and comfortable cars ever at the Great Race.
So far, the team has progressed well in lightening the engine ancillaries in the #15 Castrol Racing Car speculated to grace its first run at The Bend Motorsport Park, while the engine for the #7 Ned Racing entry is still in pieces in Queensland.
Kelly believes that engine weight reduction will help them perform better at tracks they have struggled at in 2020, and the upcoming 2020 Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama. But they will only test their theory of lightening the engine come 2021 since this season is concluding in October 2020.
He noted that new fixed cars would be pretty comfortable to be driven by the guys. He expects the cars to be probably the most stable and comfortable ones ever featured at Bathurst, for both Rick and Andree, together with their co-drivers.
Kelly further stated that they have been permanently stronger as a team at higher speed circuits, no matter the car involved, be it the Nissan or any other model. He even talked of how his primary concern is to put the team in the right direction as they fix the tighter street circuit handling issues reported.
“I’m quite interested to get back to one of those places next year with a different car than what we had this year and hopefully have a much better weekend than what we had at those joints.”
He also expects the full weight reduction to be complete by the time the team returns to Darwin and Townsville next year, which are some of the troublesome circuits for the team.
The main engine parts considered for weight reduction include the block, the cylinder heads, and inlet manifolds. They want to maintain an engine weight of 200 kg dry, and it’s a process that requires a balancing act that also meets technical requirements.
Kelly explained that the engine must have a minimum weight and exact center of gravity position. Therefore, you can’t lighten it right down and then put all the weight on the bottom. You must assemble the engine in an innovative way that reduces its overall weight and still meets all the rules involved.
He concluded that’s why they may need more time to perfect since they can’t do it on the run, but so far, he is happy with the progress they have achieved. However, we can expect more in the coming year for the Kelly Racing Cars, competing against Holden and the others.
The more engine weight reduction met and still stay within the rules, the more Kelly Racing Cars will have a high chance of scooping more wins and setting new records.
For more Bathurst 1000 news visit Supercars.com and if you want to watch Bathurst 1000 live online visit Bathurst1000info.
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