Originally published December 11, 2006
MILDURA’S Rick Kelly was the toast of Australian motorsport after winning the V8 Supercar drivers championship in dramatic circumstances.
While celebrations were under way, the 23-year-old will have to wait for official confirmation of his victory after a last-minute protest by river Craig Lowndes’ Triple Eight Racing team.
The protest followed an incident in the final race at Phillip Island and a hearing involving the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport was held after presentations.
The hearing has been adjourned until noon today when Kelly could expect a penalty to be imposed — but it is expected he will almost certainly retain the championship.
Kelly became the second youngest driver to win the title in V8 Supercar history when he finished ahead of Lowndes in front of more than 30,000 screaming motorsport fans.
It was a day of celebration for the entire Kelly family.
Rick saluted by winning the 2006 drivers championship for the Toll HSV Dealer Team that is owned by his father John, and older brother Todd put icing on the cake by winning the final round of the series for the Holden Racing Team.
The championship went right down to the wire in what could only be described as a promoter’s dream that continued the Holden and Ford rivalry.
Despite Rick holding a seven-point lead heading into the final round of the series, he and Lowndes were locked on 3258 points with one 31-lap race remaining.
Drama unfolded in the opening stages when RIck’s car came into contact with Lowndes’ from behind, sending the Ford driver spinning sideways as it was slammed by another car.
Rick was given a black flag, drive-through penalty and was sent to the rear of the field, while Lowndes suffered extensive car damage and was forced to make numerous pit stops for the remainder of the race.
Lowndes managed to limp across the line in 29th place and was beaten for the championship by Rick who fought his way back to finish in 18th position.
Rick finished fifth in race one and fourth in race two on the weekend, behind Lowndes who finished fourth and third respectively to set up the winner-take-all showdown.
The final championship points tally saw Rick on top with 3308 and Lowndes 37 points behind on 3271.
