Kelly confirms spot on 2020 Supercars grid
Rick Kelly has confirmed that he'll drive one of the two Ford Mustangs run by a new-look Kelly Racing outfit in Supercars next season.
The family-run team is changing manufacturers for a second time in its 10-year history at the end of this season, when it swaps its ageing Nissan Altima hardware for factory-backed Mustangs and scales back to two cars.
While KR didn't confirm its driver line-up along with the Ford switch, it's largely expected that Kelly and Andre Heimgartner will stay with the team, and Simona de Silvestro and Garry Jacobson will move on.
One part of that has now been made official, Kelly telling Network 10's RPM TV show that he and major backer Castrol are locked in for 2020.
However he says the second car is still up in the air, with internal and external options currently being assessed.
“Obviously we have got Castrol on my car; we announced I think a multi-year agreement at the start of this year so myself and Castrol will be continuing next year,” Kelly said.
“We hope to make an announcement on the second car full-time driver in about three or four weeks.
“We have got some fantastic options within our team and externally.
“Our aim at Kelly Racing has always been to help nurture young talent and get the drivers in there that can do the job.
“So some difficult decisions need to be made there, but like I say, we’re looking at the future and how we can position ourselves best to be competitive on the track.”
Should Heimgartner be retained as expected, that would leave de Silvestro and Jacobson on the look for new seats in 2020.
The former has already inked a Porsche Formula E test contract, which, while not ruling her out of continuing in Supercars, adds to speculation that she may not continue as a full-time driver in the Aussie series.
Jacobson, meanwhile, is being linked with a share in the second Matt Stone Racing entry should a rule allowing multiple drivers to split a seat over a season be approved by the Supercars Commission.
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About this article
| Series | Supercars |
| Drivers | Rick Kelly |
| Teams | Kelly Grove Racing |
| Author | Andrew van Leeuwen |
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