Andre Heimgartner has Kelly Grove Racing’s only win in 2021. Photo: Daniel Kalisz
With the mid-season Coronavirus halting the Repco Supercars Championship, Speedcafe.com is taking a look at Kelly Grove Racing’s performance so far in 2021.
Championship of teams: 8th.
Driver championship: Andre Heimgartner 12th, David Reynolds 15th
Qualifying head-to-head race: Reynolds 11, Heimgartner 8
Head to head race: Heimgartner 10, Reynolds 9
Kelly Grove Racing was a box of chocolates in 2021 … every weekend you never know what you’re getting.
That is not to say that Andre Heimgartner and David Reynolds had no pace, rather the team was extremely inconsistent in opening up that top speed.
So much so that in race 9 at The Bend Motorsport Park, Heimgartner moved from the absolutely dominant race to qualifying next to his teammate at the Hidden Valley Raceway one lap later in the back row.
The team didn’t shy away from the fact that it was difficult to find a setup window that would work for the Ford Mustang pair and sometimes describes the cars as “deaf” to change.
Darwin was a particularly tough weekend as he was on cloud nine at Tailem Bend, two tracks that both have similar characteristics in terms of low tire wear.
After Tailem Bend, it seemed like the Braeside-based crew had found what they had been looking for for much of 2020, only to find themselves back in first place.
Townsville brought the team some promises, a double header around Reid Park that effectively gave the team back-to-back tests. Indeed, in Townsville, Reynolds made the first top five in Kelly Racing’s 13-year history as a sign of progress.
Heimgartner’s 12th place and Reynolds 15th are by no means representative of their skills, as demonstrated by victory in Tailem Bend and Reynolds’ podium in Sandown.
Kelly Grove Racing was a bit of a headache. In the case of Heimgartner and Reynolds, the two did well with their equipment.
There has been no shortage of attempts by the team, although there is a seemingly tiresome, recurring trend of being up and down with the feel of the car.
Team middle class mark: 6/10
Driver mid-season grades: Heimgartner 7/10, Reynolds 6/10
