Adelaide: Kelly Racing race one report

WOOD 14TH ON CLIPSAL 500 DEBUT IN COMEBACK DRIVE

- Dale Wood rewards crew's hard work with great result after yesterday's Turn 8 crash
- Jack Perkins shows strong speed but is out of luck in #11 Dodo Racing Holden Commodore

V8 Supercar rookie Dale Wood has staged a strong comeback to finish 14th in the opening race of the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide today.

24 hours after crashing the newly-unveiled #16 Hi-Tec Oils Holden Commodore, Wood put in a stirring drive in his Clipsal 500 debut, finishing in 14th place, on the lead lap and ahead of many most established rivals.

His crew worked until 2:30am in the morning to repair the damaged car and the 25-year-old was determined to reward their hard work, bringing his car home in the top half of the field today.

In what was the debut race for new four-car V8 Supercar outfit Kelly Racing, Wood joined team-mates Todd and Rick Kelly in finishing in the top 15 in a sensational first outing for the Holden team.

Jack Perkins looked set to join his team-mates in the top half of the field, showing strong pace aboard the #11 Dodo Racing Holden Commodore.

Perkins, who was fifth fastest in this morning's warm-up, started from 25th position and was moving up the order in the opening laps when contact on lap eight ended his chances.

Following a crash involving Michael Caruso, the field was compressed through the East Terrace section of the Adelaide street circuit. When Todd Kelly and Jason Bright touched and slowed, Perkins was left with nowhere to go and made contact with a concrete barrier.

The contact bent his car's steering and the Dodo Racing driver lost several laps while repairs were made. Once back on track Perkins' car developed a driveline vibration and the second-generation racer decided to preserve his car for tomorrow's second 250-kilometre race.

Jamie Whincup won today's opening Clipsal 500 race ahead of Lee Holdsworth and Will Davison.

KELLY RACING QUOTEBOARD

Dale Wood - #16 Hi-Tec Oils Racing Holden Commodore

"It felt good out there, the car was good and consistent," said Wood.

"I physically felt pretty good. I'm so happy to do it for Kelly Racing. All the boys put in a really good effort and a solid job to get the car back on the track.

"The last thing I wanted to do was disgrace myself and put it in (the wall) again.

"To do it for Hi-Tec Oils along with Red Rooster and everyone involved, it was just a fantastic effort by this team.

"The car felt good. It was consistent and I just needed to work on the roll bars and brake bias, it just took a bit of tuning but it was really good.

"It was a pretty demanding race and in the main game the pace of everybody stays hot for the whole race.

"That's the biggest surprise for a rookie -- that everyone can keep that pace for 78 laps and everyone can maintain that speed.

"That's something I am ready to rise to and give a good go.

"Again, thanks to all the crew at Kelly Racing and everyone on the Hi-Tec Oils Commodore. Fantastic effort and it's great just to be a part of it."

Jack Perkins - #11 Dodo Racing Holden Commodore

"It's a real shame," said Perkins.

"I started 25th and four or five laps in we were in 20th just by keeping the nose clean.

"The Dodo Commodore was really quick. I kept on the back of Todd (Kelly) for a couple of laps and unfortunately trying to get out of a crash he was about to have with Brighty we've damaged the steering and it's stuffed our day.

"By the time the team fixed the problem we were out of the race and out of the 25 percent finishing rule so we would not have been classified as a finisher anyway.

"We wanted to make sure the car was all good and the car is very fast. It's a credit to the team and it's a good result for Dale so I'm looking forward to tomorrow."

-credit: kellyracing.com.au