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Bathurst 1000: Kelly Racing preview

BARGWANNA WANTS TO DELIVER SETON MAIDEN BATHURST WIN Jason Bargwanna wants to deliver his Rock Racing co-driver Glenn Seton a maiden Bathurst 1000 victory at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 this weekend. Bargwanna, who won The Great Race in ...

BARGWANNA WANTS TO DELIVER SETON MAIDEN BATHURST WIN

Jason Bargwanna wants to deliver his Rock Racing co-driver Glenn Seton a maiden Bathurst 1000 victory at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 this weekend.

Bargwanna, who won The Great Race in 2000 with Garth Tander, believes that the #11 Rock Commodore has the pace required to score victory following a strong second-placed run in a qualifying race at the last event at Phillip Island.

Seton, arguably the greatest driver to never win the Bathurst 1000, is the most experienced driver in this year's field as he makes his 26th start.

Seton is a two-time Australian Touring Car Champion, two time Bathurst polesitter and three-time runner up in the Bathurst 1000.

Stratco Racing drivers Tony Ricciardello and Taz Douglas will be drawing on the experience of their six Kelly Racing team-mates as they attack Mount Panorama this weekend.

The pair will look to achieve a solid race pace and keep their #16 Stratco Commodore out of trouble in Sunday's 161-lap race, a tactic that so often nets teams a top result at the treacherous 6.213-kilometre circuit.

KELLY RACING QUOTEBOARD:

JASON BARGWANNA - #11 Rock Holden Commodore:

"I feel very confident for Bathurst," said Jason Bargwanna.

"We are going there to win Glenn's first and my second Bathurst.

"I feel excited that we're in a position to do well. Last year people didn't write me down as being one of the favourites and with Mark Noske we were up there at the end fighting for it.

"This year with Seto we've got the experience, the knowledge and the people. Our car speed with the Rock Commodore is good and hopefully we can fly under the radar a little bit and deliver a good result.

"We've seen a lot of 200 kilometre races this year where we fight our way from the middle of the field and we are battle for a top 10 position.

"If you do that for another 800 kilometres there is no reason why we can't be one of the cars fighting in the top five.

"With all the preparation and work the guys have done we have our cars really good. Our fingers are crossed and with some smart play we have what it takes."

GLENN SETON - #11 Rock Holden Commodore:

"I'm looking forward to the challenge that Bathurst always brings," said Glenn Seton.

"It's been two years since I raced there in a V8 Supercar, although I've done the 12 Hour (production car race).

"I thoroughly enjoy that bit of road there and it's the holy grail of racing. It's one of those tracks you never, ever get sick of and you are always learning there, regardless of whether you have been there 25 times or none.

"I'm keen to get into it and hopefully by the end of Sunday we are in a great position to hopefully finish on the podium.

"The experience and doing so many miles around there over the years just helps your confidence more than anything.

"The evolution of these cars and teams and drivers and everything that's involved is huge. But still the most important thing is to make sure that you stay off the concrete and bring the car back for the lead driver to race it home in a good position.

"You always hope you are good enough to be fighting for a podium at the end of the day on Sunday."

BRENDAN HOGAN - Race Engineer, #11 Rock Holden Commodore:

"The key is to be smart and consistent until around 30 laps to go and hopefully put youself in a good position at the last pit stop to charge on," said Brendan Hogan.

"As soon as you get a Safety Car it sort of resets the strategy and you get a chance to take a breath and refocus your attention to where things are at and when you plan to make your next stop."

TONY RICCIARDELLO - #16 Stratco Holden Commodore:

"We probably didn't have the fastest car out there last year but our strategy and our race plan was pretty straight forward and it worked," said Tony Ricciardello.

"We got a lap back and had a pretty competitive car towards the end. This year is about the same thing, getting comfortable in the car and having a good, fast race car for Sunday.

"Qualifying for us is a little bit of an issue but we can keep working on that. As long as we've got a strong car towards the end of Sunday then I'm sure a good result with come out of it.

"We had a comfortable car for the race last year and we will start with a similar set up this weekend with the Stratco Commodore.

"I'm hoping we can work to improve that even more. That, in the end, is going to make both drivers comfortable and when both drivers are comfortable then the pace will come with that.

"We've just got to take each day as it comes and really just make sure we progress and don't have any issues across the weekend."

TAZ DOUGLAS - #16 Stratco Holden Commodore:

"This is the big one," said Taz Douglas.

"You get a bit nervous but you are mainly thinking about doing a good job for the team.

"I want to do a nice, solid job and get as many laps in as I can. I've only been there once before so it's just important at this stage of my career to get lots of laps and to do a solid job and not do anything stupid.

"You have to keep the car straight just so that you get the maximum track time because even a small problem can jeopardise your ability to get out for the next session.

"I want to do a good job for Tony as well because he did quite well at Bathurst last year and he was right up there at the end of the race.

"I want to do a solid job for him and our Stratco Racing crew because it's been a big effort getting ready for this one.

"I've been looking at as much data and vision from all the Kelly Racing cars over the past few weeks and now I can't wait to get out there and put all that knowledge to good use."

STUART MCDONALD - Race Engineer, #16 Stratco Holden Commodore:

"Our Stratco Commodore has a couple of up and coming young drivers who are relatively inexperienced when you compared them to the lead drivers in our team," said Stuart McDonald.

"So the big focus for us is the race and our strategy, rather than outright qualifying speed. Obviously we still focus on qualifying as much as we can but it's a long race.

"We want to get the strategy right so that we can stay on the lead lap. If you can do that and you have a few things fall your way you can end up with a top 10 result.

"Having the data from all four cars to look at is the biggest thing for us. Ultimately we have six other drivers to help us and they are all quite experienced.

"That gives us a lot of information and data that we can overlay to give our two drivers different points on the track where we can aim for improvement to match the front cars and improve our pace."

-source: kelly racing

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