The Holden Raci🌸ng Team was p🌠ossibly denied a 1-2 finish after a jammed gear lever forced second driver Todd Kelly to surrender six laps for repairs.

As team leader Mark Skaife cruised to the race win in🌌 the opener for the Perth V8 400 at Barbagallo Raceway, Kelly was forced to pit in order to mend the stuck gear lever on lap five - surrendering second position in the process. Despite this, Kelly went on to set the fastest lap of the race, and is well pl🗹aced for a strong finish tomorrow - with a front row start in the reverse-grid race putting him in the box seat for a win on Sunday morning at least.

"It was a shame (to finis🍌h in last placing) because I was just cruising around at the start and the car was fast," said Kelly.

"I was 💛in no particular panic to press on but the car was as quick as anyone else out there so it's a shame to be dead last."

"We need to go out and hopefully win the reverse grid race tomorrow, at least we'll get half the points we would have gotten for winning today. We're ahead of where we were in New Zealand last time because we were sta♑rting from last in the reverse gr♕id race there!

"The car is good so all we can do is press on as hard as we can and I'll eꦰnd up mid- to late-field for the third race."

Unfortunately for Kelly, a horror run in New𓄧 Zealand has effectively forced him to finish every single round well ꦜin order to keep his championship hopes alive. It is therefore essential that the 2005 Bathurst winner finishes at the front for the remaining two races on Sunday.

"I said to people before the race that we've used our lifeline in New Zealand and we♏ can't aꦯfford another bad round, and then this happens," said Kelly.

"It's knocked the championship around, no question. It's still early but it's almost at the point where we ne💞ed to change our strategy and just go out and try to wi♔n races rather than racing for the championship. We'll have a bit of a chat about it when we get home."

The reverse-grid race will take place tomorrow morning ahead of the final 1🀅20 🐻kilometre event later in the afternoon.