Kelly to use revamped car in Hamilton.

Todd Kelly has elected to postpone the debut of a new race car following the successful test of his revamped Jack Daniel's Racing Holden V8 at Winton last week.

Kelly was expected to introduce the latest Perkins-built VE Commodore - chassis PE047 - at this weekend's inaugural street race in Hamilton, New Zealand, but team owner Larry Perkins, disappointed with recent performances in Sydney and the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, ordered a review of the current cars.

"Our results weren't what we wanted, and I accepted that we needed to find out why," Perkins explained, "We needed to rectify the situation rather than debut the new car."

The veteran team boss revealed that the team was able to recognise a number of deficiencies in both the front and rear suspension, areas overlooked last season while getting rookies Shane Price and Jack Perkins up to speed.

"With Todd's experience to draw on, we've been able to identify the shortcomings and make the necessary changes," he said, "We've undertaken a huge amount of work since the [Australian] Grand Prix, and Todd and our engineers are happy with the results."

Kelly agreed that the improvements were noticeable.

"Our test was very good," he confirmed, "My Jack Daniel's Commodore is now more responsive and feeling the way I like it - and that has to be better. The Perkins Engineering team has done an incredible job to re-engineer the car since the grand prix, and I'm feeling more confident heading to Hamilton."

Kelly also said that the team wasn't concerned with setting a fast lap time during the test, which also involved team-mate Price, along with Fujitsu Series drivers Jack Perkins and Tim Slade, but was more focused on finding consistency with the car.

"Perkins cars have always been fast at Winton, so setting a time wasn't the issue," he pointed out, "What was was understanding the modifications, achieving similar lap times with a different set-up, and making those changes suit other tracks."

Team manager Joe Bremner agreed that the decision to hold off the new car was sensible.

"When you sit down and think about it, there was really no point taking the new car to a new circuit," he said, "Everyone's going there with no data, we're all on a level playing field and taking it would only confuse the issue."

Kelly said a decision on when the team would now roll out the new chassis would be made after New Zealand, but a Perth debut was likely.

"We'll know where we're at after this weekend," he admitted, "We're still undecided but, if NZ turns out good, then we'll most likely have the new car ready for Perth."