SUPERCARS champion Rick Kelly has revealed Trentham Waters Resort Mildura as the centrepiece project of his post-racing career.
Kelly has taken the lead on developing the recreational vehicle park on the northern side of the New South Wales/Victoria border.
Now aged 39, Kelly has for the most part stayed out of the spotlight since calling time on his Repco Supercars Championship career at the end of 2020.
Just days after unveiling the Hell-Bent Garage video series he’ll drive alongside son Lex, he has opened up on life after Supercars via the On The Grid podcast.
“I had a couple of months there where I just took it all in and stepped away from obviously Supercars and a little bit the media and stuff in the process,” said the Mildura product, who won the 2003 and 2004 editions of the Bathurst 1000 with Greg Murphy.
“I just reflected on the time I had as a professional race car driver and worked out what was next.
“I wanted to step away at a time when I could still kickstart another career and enjoy life beyond racing, so I sat and thought about it for a little while and a couple of things came forward for me.
“I really enjoy building things, whether it’s sheds, houses, renovating or whatever.
“As a family, we bought a block of land some years ago that we had hoped to build into an RV park eventually and it’s a block where we had actually gone camping on and parked our houseboat on for decades prior to us purchasing the block.
“It’s on the Murray River. Long story short – even though I have probably dragged it out to a long one – we started planning to build an RV park.
“So I have been leading that project now for almost 18 months.
“It’s been a big project from the point of view of just planning it out because it’s such a big site: it’s 40 acres up the top where we’re building the RV park and then 200 acres down on the riverfront of the Murray River.
“So that is called Trentham Waters Resort Mildura and that has been my baby now for 18 months. I’ve loved it.
“The planning is a tricky one in the background, getting everything right, but we’re at the point now where we can start to dig some holes and build some things, so that side of it is pretty exciting.”
The Supercars squad formerly co-owned by Rick and elder brother Todd, Kelly Racing, has proven a regular podium contender this year under the Grove Racing guise.
