OREANDA-NEWS. November 25, 2015. hree Nissan Altimas have finished inside the top 10 following the feature race at the WD-40 SuperSprint in Phillip Island, Australia last weekend.

A strong qualifying performance from the Nissan squad saw all four cars spend the early part of the race inside the top eight. Todd Kelly went on to greet the checkered flag in fifth just ahead of Rick in sixth, with James Moffat recording a strong eighth-place finish. A pit-stop issue prevented Michael Caruso taking advantage of his qualifying speed, eventually finishing in 22nd.

The result for the #7 carsales Racing Nissan matches Todd Kelly's strongest performance of the year, equaling the fifth achieved at Winton. The fifth place result left Todd as the highest finishing driver in the Nissan Motorsport quartet.

Rick Kelly enjoyed a strong start off the line before being battered and bruised by competitors. A big hit up the rear ensured that Rick was wide awake before he'd even completed one lap of the Phillip Island circuit. Smart racing and effective pitstops kept him in a competitive position crossing the line in sixth.

James Moffat's eighth place didn't fairly represent the afternoon he had. The #99 Faresin Industries Altima did briefly lead as the pit-stop strategies shuffled the pack. When Moffat himself pitted, an issue with the rear brakes held him in pit lane and saw him drop down the order. Rejoining outside the top 10, Moffat fought pack to record another top 10 finish. This result backing up the fifth place finish from earlier in the weekend.

The #23 NISMO entry of Michael Caruso spent much of the early part of the race inside the top five. His long first stint allowed him to demonstrate the car pace shown at the previous round in Pukekohe, New Zealand. However, it all came unstuck during his pit stop for tires. A clutch issue caused the wheels to spin during the tire change and resulted in Caruso receiving a drive through penalty. The #23 would then drop down the order and be unable to recover the lost track position, eventually crossing the line in 22nd place.

The V8 Supercars Championship now moves to the final round at Homebush for the Coates Hire Sydney 500, December 4 to 6.

NISSAN MOTORSPORT QUOTEBOARD

Todd Kelly, #7 carsales Racing Nissan Altima V8

"I have really just been hoping to get a podium this year at some stage. It's been a tough battle. I was always looking forward to this round because if we did a good job I thought we'd be reasonably competitive. Fifth is a great result, but we didn't quite have the speed to get a podium here. But with what we've got in the pipeline in 12 months time, hopefully we're in that position. We're certainly heading in the right direction, so I'm wrapped with where we ended up today."

"It was a real shame what happen to Michael today. I wondered where he went since he was racing ahead of me and had really good pace. I thought he should be on for a podium with the speed that he had. So definitely disappointing for him because it would have made for an even better day for Nissan."

Michael Caruso, #23 NISMO Nissan Altima V8

"The car is obviously very quick but unfortunately suffered a clutch problem which ultimately ended the great result we were heading towards. Everyone is disappointed, but hopefully they can find out what exactly the problem was and we can rectify it for Sydney in a couple of weeks.

"We've still got that same speed we showed in New Zealand; that's a real positive. It's really good that we can carry pace across events. This will hopefully allow to end the year on a high in Sydney."

James Moffat, #99 Faresin Industries Nissan Altima V8

"We were having a pretty good race there, battling with Shane and Rick, but we spent a bit too much time in the pits which cost us some track position after our second stop. Sometimes that's how it goes in motor racing. I finished eighth and got some good points. The car was good in the last stint so I was able to press on, but just had a bit too much ground to make up."

"Next round is my last with the team, and I'll go there and do the very best I can. Hopefully my performance is good and we can have a good weekend"

Rick Kelly, #15 Jack Daniel's Racing Nissan Altima

"It was a very exciting first lap. I got a pretty reasonable start off the line, and we got punched around a fair bit," said Rick Kelly.

"It was a scary one. It's such a long race that you want to get off to a good start.

"Nevertheless I had my brother in front for most of the race doing a fantastic job to get fifth, and then us in sixth.

"So for us this weekend it was a really good result. We consolidated in that last race and got some good points, and now we head to the last one to battle it out and see what we can get in the Championship."

RESULTS

Race 33

1. Craig Lowndes
2. Scott McLaughlin
3. Jamie Whincup
4. Mark Winterbottom
5. Todd Kelly
6. Rick Kelly
7. Shane Van Gisbergen
8. James Moffat
9. Garth Tander
10. David Reynolds
22. Michael Caruso

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS

After 33 races
1. Mark Winterbottom- 3007 points
2. Craig Lowndes- 2828
3. David Reynolds- 2688
4. Garth Tander- 2459
5. Shane Van Gisbergen- 2442
6. Fabian Coulthard- 2394
7. Jamie Whincup- 2359
8. Scott McLaughlin- 2057
9. Chaz Mostert- 2017
10. James Courtney- 1946
11. Rick Kelly- 1932
12. Michael Caurso- 1744
14. James Moffat- 1570
18. Todd Kelly- 1534