Success in V8 Supercars requires the highest levels of craftsmanship in design and construction and total commitment by the driver and the team.
Jack Daniel’s Racing is celebrating this craftsmanship and commitment with a stunning rendition of fast facts across their two Commodore V8 Supercars, which will compete at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi on November 2-4 in races 24, 25 and 26 of the 2012 V8 Supercar Championship.
The ‘Craftsmanship’ car focuses on the details of the car itself including the 72 pitons used in the 8 engines, the 432 brake changes made, the 90 litres of paint used to make the cars shine, the 650 horsepower of the engine, its acceleration of 0-100kmh in 3.4 seconds, the 160 metres of roll cage used and the 24 panels on each car.
The ‘Commitment’ car highlights what it takes the Jack Daniel’s Racing team to compete in the Championship.
This includes 32,800 hours of team training, the 1800 hours it takes to create a Jack Daniel’s Racing V8 Supercar, the 483 hours of racing, the 635 flights to move the team from race to race and the 230 races that Jack Daniel’s Racing have competed in over the past 7 years of their involvement in the sport.
Todd Kelly – “We are very proud of the outstanding quality, detail, dedication and craftsmanship that goes into every component we produce on our V8 Supercars cars. When I visited the Jack Daniel’s distillery in Lynchburg, I saw that same level of craftsmanship and passion in the production of the famous Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey”.
While Todd Kelly will remain in Australia to supervise the construction of next year’s Nissan Altima V8 Supercars, Rick Kelly and Tim Blanchard, (subbing for the injured Todd) are both looking forward to tackling the challenging Yas Marina circuit.
There are many firsts for this event.
It is the first time the V8 Supercars will race on the full Grand Prix track;
It is the first time the category has supported an F1 Grand Prix outside Australia.
And the final first is the unique race format for the weekend, with three 12-lap sprint races with no pitstops, just lights to flag racing.
This format creates even more competitive racing and lots of action as seen at Sandown earlier this year.
Rick Kelly – “This is an exciting round for us, having just come out of the endurance races. So now I get to move the seat back to the original position and jump in the car by myself. It’s a pretty unique schedule for us, with three short races and not long to tune the car and a different qualifying structure as well. I am really looking forward to getting there and seeing if our version of the best way to attack the weekend is going to be better than everybody else. It’s a massive weekend with the F1’s and different track to what we have ever run on and I can’t wait”.
Tim Blanchard – “The Gold Coast race was a tough one as I was driving a V8 Supercar there for the first time and learning how to get the best out of the soft compound tyres in qualifying and the race. I know a lot more about how the soft tyres work now and am looking forward to racing on the Yas Marina circuit. I’ve watched Grands Prix from there and can’t wait to race on such an amazing circuit. The short no pitstop races will be a bit like Sandown earlier this year and will be very entertaining for the fans and TV viewers”.
