 | |
| Team Principal | John Kelly Margaret Kelly |
|---|---|
| Debut | 2001 |
| Final Season | 2008 |
| Round wins | 16 |
| Pole positions | 11 |
| 2008 position | 6th (3,744 points) |
TheHSV Dealer Team, previously known asTom Walkinshaw Racing Australia andJohn Kelly Racing, was an AustralianV8 Supercar team. The team ceased operations at the end of 2008, withWalkinshaw Racing andKelly Racing being formed by owners and staff of the former team. The team is best known for winning theBathurst 1000 in2003 and2004 and the V8 Supercars Drivers & Teams Championships in2006 and2007.
The team was formed in2001 (commercially known asK-Mart Racing Team) whenTom Walkinshaw Racing expanded itsHolden Racing Team operation to four cars. Because a team could only race three cars under a Racing Entitlement Contract (REC) at the time, Romano Racing's REC was leased for the two K-Mart cars with the Romano car entered as a third Holden Racing Team car under theHolden Young Lions banner.
Todd Kelly who had driven a third HRT entry under the Holden Young Lions banner in2000 drove one car, with the second driven byGreg Murphy who moved with the K-Mart sponsorship fromGibson Motorsport. The team achieved its first success in winning the final two rounds of the 2001 season. Murphy won his home event, theV8 International atPukekohe Park Raceway, which was followed by Kelly winning theV8 Ultimate atSandown Raceway, his first championship round win.[1] Murphy would go on to win the Pukekohe event again for the team in 2002 and 2003.
For2003 the cars were entered under a REC leased fromJohn Faulkner Racing withRick Kelly replacing brother Todd. Following the February 2003 collapse of Tom Walkinshaw Racing, the team was purchased byHolden before being quickly on-sold to John and Margaret Kelly, the parents of Rick and Todd, as manufacturers were barred from owning teams. In July 2003 the leased John Faulkner REC was returned (and subsequently sold toPaul Weel Racing), after one was purchased from00 Motorsport.
The team won both the2003 and2004 Bathurst 1000 with Murphy and Rick Kelly as co-drivers. This included being a part of one of the most famous moments in Bathurst history in 2003, with Murphy setting what became known as the 'Lap of the Gods' in the Top 10 Shootout. The lap was the fastest in circuit history at the time. In winning the 2003 race, Rick Kelly became the youngest winner in the race's history.[2]
In2005 Murphy was replaced byGarth Tander. At this point K-Mart concluded their sponsorship and the team became theHSV Dealer Team. Rick Kelly's entry was, however, rebranded as TeamBuick for theV8 Supercars China Round. The team struggled through the early stages of 2005 before a late upturn in form. In2006,Toll Group joined HSV as a title sponsor with the team becoming known asToll HSV Dealer Team. The team then quickly became the dominant force of the championship with Rick Kelly winning the 2006 championship title and Tander doing likewise in2007.[1]
In2008 Tander transferred, with the Toll sponsorship, to the Holden Racing Team and was replaced byPaul Dumbrell.[3] As well as continuing HSV sponsorship, the team ranAutobarn colours for Dumbrell andOpes Prime colours for Kelly,Toll Group then rejoined the team midway through the season, following the collapse of Opes Prime. Rick Kelly won the team's final race atOran Park Raceway in December 2008, which was also the final championship race held at the now-demolished circuit.[1]
For the endurance races in 2006, the HSV Dealer Team and theHolden Racing Team swapped drivers, primarily to split Tander and Kelly who were both in contention for the championship (being 1st and 2nd at that point). Tander joinedMark Skaife at HRT whileTodd Kelly rejoined the team. A loophole in the regulations allowed the drivers to terminate their contracts with their respective teams. However while Kelly would finish second at bothSandown andBathurst, Tander only managed twenty-seventh at Sandown and did not finish at Bathurst.[2] The loophole was later closed.
At the end of 2008 John Kelly announced he would end his association withWalkinshaw Performance and establishKelly Racing, with preparation handled byPerkins Engineering. The new team expanded to four cars and featured both Kelly brothers driving in the same team for the first time. The team continued to run Holden Commodore's, until partnering withNissan for their return to the category in2013. Unfortunately this association only lasted until 2019, the team continued as Kelly racing and ran the Nissan Altima's for that year under licence before downsizing to two cars and swapping to Ford Mustangs for 2020. In January 2021 Stephen Grove bought a 50% stake in the team and it was renamed Kelly Grove Racing, he would end up buying the remaining 50% 6 months later though and so for 2022 the team would become known as Grove Racing and the Kellys involvement seized.
Walkinshaw Performance decided to continue to race four cars, formingWalkinshaw Racing in2009 to complement the HRT entries. Dumbrell remained with the Walkinshaw operation for 2009, joined by former HSV Dealer Team endurance co-driverDavid Reynolds. Walkinshaw Racing folded after the2015 season as the operation downsized to two cars.
The following is a list of drivers who have driven for the team in V8 Supercars, in order of their first appearance. Drivers who only drove for the team on a part-time basis are listed in italics.[1]
Greg Murphy (2001–04)
Todd Kelly (2001–02, 2006)Rick Kelly (2001, 2003–08)Nathan Pretty (2001)
Yvan Muller (2002)
Andy Priaulx (2002–03)Cameron McLean (2003)Tim Leahey (2004–05)Steve Owen (2004)Garth Tander (2005–07)Mark Noske (2005)Anthony Tratt (2006)Tony D'Alberto (2006)Craig Baird (2007)Paul Radisich (2007–08)Paul Dumbrell (2008)David Reynolds (2008)