KELLY Racing has shown off its pair of Schramm Group Mustangs with which it will tackle the 2024 Dunlop Super2 Series.
The #22 and #27 Gen2 Ford Supercars will be raced by Mason Kelly and Aaron Cameron respectively, while Daniel Veronese has been appointed team manager.
Veronese brings experience from stints at Walkinshaw Andretti United, Grove Racing, Tickford Racing and Garry Rogers Motorsport; last year he juggled engineering Elly Morrow in Super2 and Cameron in TCR Australia.
“A serious amount of work during the off-season has taken place to turn the team into a fully-fledged Super2 operation and to make sure our two Ford Mustangs are the best on the grid,” said Veronese.
“I think Aaron is really going to show his talent this year and Mason is still quite young, but learning a lot.
“Having a reference like Aaron and a renewed team this season will be really beneficial for both. Testing at Winton demonstrated both drivers were right on the pace and I think they will be pushing each other throughout the year.
“I’ve worked with Aaron for the past three years in TCR and I’ve never seen him this dedicated, this motivated. I think this will carry over to Mason and myself, we’ve got big ambitions for this year.
“A lot of work has been completed to rebuild both Ford Mustangs and manufacturer spare parts during the off-season. The machine shop has been flat out producing parts to the latest specification and everything has been set-up as it should be to a Supercar standard.
“We’ve made sure that every part of the team is 100 percent and is ready to take on anyone in the series.”
Kelly, the son of team owner and Bathurst 1000 winner Todd, graduates from Super3.
“Last year was a massive learning season for me in terms of the tracks and the car as I expanded my skill set to get my head around the whole experience,” said the 18-year-old.
“By the end of the year I was happy with the speed we had and the progression made, so I feel confident entering Super2.
“It was great to jump in the Mustang during testing recently.
“It’s the same chassis underneath as the Altima, but there are a lot of differences as well such as the position of the windows around the driver, the feel of the engine and the stability of the aerodynamic package make it really nice to drive. I found it easier in certain areas than the Altima.
“I was really happy with how we went in the two-day test and it was great to complete all that running without any problems at a good pace.
ENTRY LIST: 2024 Super2 season-opener at Bathurst
“Super2 has been very competitive the last couple of seasons and there is a very high level of drivers, but I’d like to think we’ll be quite competitive. I won’t put a mark on what I want to achieve, but I’m confident going into the season and hopeful we can have some good results.”
Kelly is keen to soak up lessons from Cameron, a proven race winner in TCR and S5000 who embarked on an impressive partial 2023 Super2 campaign (also in a Kelly Mustang).
“To do three rounds last year was all pre-planning to undertake a full attack of the 2024 Super2 Series,” said Cameron.
“We learnt a lot about the starts, the racecraft and the different driving technique a Supercar requires compared to categories I come from as I’ve had to switch to right-foot braking.
“The Kelly Racing crew put in a big effort during the break to not only go over my car, but also with Mason coming in his Mustang needed to be ready as well.
“To roll out pretty strongly with Mason and I was pretty cool, with the car feeling different to last year as my confidence has grown since my first race at Sandown last year heading into the opening round at Bathurst.
“I’m aiming to be inside the top five, that’s where we’d like to be as a base goal and we’ll keep chipping away at it throughout the year.
“We did learn a lot last year about how to set up a series, even if it was just three rounds we did a great job of accumulating points led by at Bathurst where we finished fourth for the round. This year the focus is to keep on finishing and the results will come throughout the year.
“I’ve done a bit of mentoring at Garry Rogers Motorsport during the last few years and in general Mason doesn’t need any help with qualifying speed – he’s really fast.
“I do feel there are aspects in the racecraft that I can help with and give advice on. That’s the idea, work as a team and pull each other forward. I believe he’ll be pushing me at Bathurst, he’s been really good already during testing.”
As part of Kelly Racing’s rebirth, the former race-winning Supercars Championship team has launched new social media pages via Facebook and Instagram.
