Kellys choose Figaro for annual Bathurst road trip

For over a decade now the Kelly brothers have made the annual drive to Bathurst in a series of off-beat vehicles, with the Japanese-sourced Figaro chosen for their 2015 pilgrimage one of the more interesting.

 

The 1991-built two door convertible features a 987cc turbocharged engine, mated to a three speed automatic transmission.

 

Adding to the challenge of completing the road trip in time for Thursday's opening practice session, the Figaro is paired with a Bathurst Special Edition Jayco Caravan. As a solid backup to the Figaro, a Nissan NP300 Navara will provide support, equipped with a Jayco Starcraft Caravan. To complete the caravanning road trip theme, the team will make overnight stops at Jayco leisure parks en route.

 

Kicking the trip off in style, the Kelly brothers donned their finest '1950s' threads, with the dress-up theme now a staple of the yearly Bathurst expedition.

 

Once in Bathurst, the Kellys and Russell will be joined by five other drivers in Nissan's four car attack on The Great Race.

The Nissan Motorsport convoy is scheduled to arrive in Mount Panorama's pit lane at 11:00am on Tuesday.

 

On track action is schedule to commence on Thursday with three practise sessions, followed by two further practises and qualifying on Friday, the top-ten shootout on Saturday, and the 161 lap race on Sunday.

 

 

"For Todd and me, the Bathurst road trip is a tradition, we've done it for 12 or 13 years now, and it all started back when Todd, I and Nathan Pretty drove a camper van up to Bathurst," said Rick Kelly.

 

"The whole idea was to take a day and half to get there and arrive in a good frame of mind. I think we certainly achieved that, and since then we have just carried on the tradition.

 

"Over the years it has developed into something quite unique; we generally pick a car now that is a little older, have a theme, whether it's 1950s, '60s, '70s, or '80s, and we dress accordingly to the era of the car, which just adds a little bit of fun.

 

"We take a couple of days to arrive in Bathurst, we try to come into town in style, and a certain sense of achievement getting whatever car it is that we've driven to Bathurst.

 

"This year it's hard, how do we top all of the cool cars and outfits we've had over the years? Of course, how could you beat a Nissan Figaro? It's a very unique car, it didn't actually get brought into Australia, and this one has come straight from Japan in only the last few weeks.

 

"Since we've taken delivery, I've absolutely fallen in love with it; it's a nice little car, a one litre turbo, and just a lot of fun.

 

"A road trip wouldn't be complete without a good caravan behind it, so we have a little Jayco Bathurst Special Edition van that we've managed to put together with the team at Jayco for the trip.

 

"And again, a Bathurst road trip wouldn't be complete without a solid backup plan, and that's where the new Nissan NP300 Navara and the Jayco Starcraft come into it. We've got something a little different, a little retro car, and a little bit of style following us up as well.

 

"We can't wait to jump in and make the annual road trip to Bathurst in the most unique and exciting car combination we've had."

 

"The Nissan Figaro is completely Rick's deal, so I can stand back and wipe my hands clean of the expedition if we get picked on, or I can say it was half my idea if people like it!" said Todd Kelly.

 

"It's a cool little car, it's got fairly reasonable technology and age for something that looks really cool and retro, I think it's going to be perfect for what we're doing, and it's comfortable too.

 

"I'm really looking forward to the road trip this year because we are making a few stops this time along the way at Jayco caravan parks. Doing a bit of caravanning along the way will be a nice change of pace.

 

"We've been doing this for many years now, and it all started with more a relaxed itinerary with a bit of roadside camping, then we moved into motels, which were as fancy as you could get on the back road to Bathurst.

 

"It was good, but I think it's better to get back to a caravan park at the end of a long day of driving, cooking a BBQ, and relaxing.

 

"This is really going back to how it used to be, and I can't wait to get on the road."