Nissan Motorsport has announced half of its V8 Supercars 2013 endurance co-driver line-up.
David Russell and Karl Reindler return to the team alongside Todd and Rick Kelly respectively to steer the two Jack Daniel’s Racing Nissan Altimas at the Sandown 500, Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 and the Armor All Gold Coast 600.
Russell returns to the team for a third consecutive year after driving at Bathurst with Rick Kelly and standing in for the injured Greg Murphy at Tasmania and Darwin in 2012.
“It’s my third year with the team and a very exciting time obviously with a factory team, the first time I’ve been involved in a factory team, so to be teamed up with Todd is a great opportunity,” said Russell.
“We get on very well, I’ve raced with him before and I’ve got some unfinished business from last time I was with Todd. We were in a really good spot and unfortunately things didn’t go our way.
“I think it’s time to turn the tables and go and get a very solid result for Nissan Motorsport.”
“It’s great to have ‘Coighty’, as we call him, back in the car, we’ve spent a little bit of time together in the past in the one car, so to team up again is fantastic,” said Todd Kelly.
“To have some continuity with a familiar face is for me, extremely important. We can basically jump in the car and take off from where we left off the last time we drove together at Bathurst.
“We don’t have to learn what each other likes, or learn what a new person is like to work with, so it’s pretty much jump in and get straight down to business with David, which I’m really looking forward to.”
Reindler, who is competing in the Carrera Cup this year, drove full-time for the team in its former guise as Kelly Racing in 2012, but lost out when the team switched to Nissan for 2013.
“I’m really looking forward to teaming up with Rick for all three endurance races this season, obviously I was with the team last year, so I’m comfortable with how everything works,” said Reindler.
“Having the opportunity to be part of the Nissan factory team when it returns to Bathurst for the first time since 1992 is a huge deal, and I think Rick and I have got a great chance of getting a really strong result.
“I get on really well with Rick and we are a similar build, which makes seating position and things like that very simple, I just can’t wait to get in the car.”
“Karl in my opinion has got a little bit of unfinished business within our team, we had him last year as one of our drivers and particularly towards the later part of the year, he really found his straps and did a fantastic job,” said Rick Kelly.
“It’s been tough for him not to be in the car full time this year, but for him to join myself at the three endurance races is a good opportunity for Karl to jump back in and show that he can do a fantastic job as he did last year.
“For us it’s a great opportunity to get a strong result, I think that Karl and myself as a pairing is as strong as anyone else out there and it certainly gives us a chance of getting a good result.”
