Todd, Mason Kelly hands-on in Super2 Ford rebuild
Dunlop Series
4d
Todd, Mason Kelly steer Ford rebuild
Kelly Mustang rebuilt following Perth fire
Kelly shaking down Mustang at Winton
Father-son duo Todd and Mason Kelly have helped deliver their rebuilt Ford to the track following a fire in Perth.
Super2 rookie Kelly has hit the track for a shakedown at Winton Motor Raceway on Wednesday, nearly six weeks after his fiery incident.
An engine fire caused significant damage to the Super2 Mustang during Race 2, forcing the small Kelly Racing squad to complete a full rebuild of the car ahead of Round 3 in Townsville.
The chassis arrived in the Kelly Racing workshop the Thursday after Perth, with the Kelly crew — including Todd and Mason — banding together to complete a strip down and rebuilt.
The crew used the Kelly Precision machinery shop to produce parts, with Todd himself producing new parts, including a new exhaust system.
It was the second Super2 car that required a post-Perth rebuild, following Cameron McLeod's rollover.
“We got the car stripped down pretty quick, which is normal practice as it only takes a day or two with a couple of people working on it,” Mason Kelly explained.
“A lot of the fire damage on the paintwork and chassis had to be repaired by sanding it back before repainting the shell. PPG has been helping me this season, so it was a good opportunity to practice my painting with base coat and clear for the cage and direct gloss for the panels.
“There was so much burnt stuff that could not be repaired and had to go in the bin and we ordered a big list of items to replace it.”
The Ford had already been damaged in a Bathurst practice crash, which forced an overnight rebuild. Kelly was then taken out in the Perth opener, prompting another rebuild.
While going fast behind the wheel is Kelly’s priority, the rising star enjoyed being part of the latest rebuild, as it helped bring him closer to his car than ever before.
“Ed my mechanic is away, so I’ve been working with Mikey, who’s on the other car to help with bits and pieces. As much work as it’s been, I’ve enjoyed it and it’s given me a chance to learn all the aspects of the car,” Kelly added.
“It was good to have access to the Kelly Precision side of the business and we’ve got really good guys working there. Any parts we need to dig out from the server and make is quite straightforward, the personnel in there can search for any part to produce.
"With this new exhaust system, we needed a set of some new flanges to bolt to the engine and these were on the server ensuring we got the parts the following day.
“I really enjoy working on the car. It’s good to have a solid knowledge of what's underneath me. I think one of the most important things about being a race driver is having a good understanding of the car.
“It’ll be good to get back in the car again to shake it down. There will be a lot of mechanical and data checks throughout the day, but to be behind the wheel again will be good.
“Coming from Perth, it was the strongest pace we’d had up until this point and we were quite competitive, but if we can carry a little bit of that momentum into Townsville then we should go okay.”
