Supercars 2023: The sons of racing guns bringing famous V8 surnames back to the track
A new generation of famous Supercars names is emerging through the Australian motorsport ranks. See which famous surnames are making a comeback to the grid.
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They are the sons of V8 guns aiming to make their own mark on track.
A new generation of famous Supercars names is emerging through the Australian motorsport ranks, following in the footsteps of their champion fathers.
The V8 Super2 and Super3 feeder series are littered with young sons-of-guns striving to become the next big thing in Supercars.
And other next-generation drivers are working their way up the motorsport ladder in series regularly featuring on the Supercars undercard.
Famous V8 names such as Johnson, Richards, Murphy and Kelly, which have graced the grid over the past three or four decades are back on the track again.
Here are some of the famous V8 surnames making a comeback.
MASON KELLY (Super3)
The son of 2005 Bathurst 1000 champion Todd Kelly, Mason is making his Supercars racing debut in this year’s Dunlop series.
The 18-year-old from Melbourne is racing in a Nissan Altima – the same car his father raced in for his final Supercars appearance in 2017 – in the Super3 category.
Todd has been by Mason’s side as he launches his V8 career, working as team manager as the Kelly Racing name makes a return to Supercars.
Mason carries the No. 22 Todd used during his time with the Holden Racing Team between 2004 and 2007.
The teenager has worked his way into the Super3 series after racing in the Hyundai Excel and Sports Sedan categories in recent years.
Todd had 541 race starts in Supercars before running a team in the main series between 2009 and 2021 before it was taken over by Grove Racing.
Kelly has had three top-five finishes in his debut Super3 season and currently sits sixth in the driver standings.
AARON SETON (Super2)
A third generation driver, Seton is the son of two-time Australian touring car champion Glenn and grandson of 1965 Bathurst winner, Barry.
Seton is now in his third season in the Super2 series, racing for Gomersall Motorsport after two seasons with Matt Stone Racing.
The 25-year-old has finished ninth in the Super2 standings the past two years and sits eights in this year’s championship.
Seton made his debut in the main game as a co-driver alongside Jack Le Brocq in last year’s Bathurst 1000, finishing 14th.
Before his entry into Super2, Seton spent two years as a mechanic at DJR Team Penske, also jumping behind the wheel of the team’s Mustang at Supercars’ aerodynamic tests.
He launched into Super2 after winning the TA2 Muscle Car series in 2019.
Seton currently sits ninth in the Dunlop Series driver standings.
NASH MORRIS (Super2)
The son of Bathurst 1000 winner Paul Morris, Nash is lining up for his second season in Super2 this year.
Morris finished 17th in his debut season in the series last year after winning the Super3 crown in 2021.
The 20-year-old has learned his trade at his father’s racing school at Norwell Motorplex in Queensland. Paul won the 2014 Bathurst 1000 with Chaz Mostert.
Morris started his racing career in the Hyundai Excel category in 2019 before building his racing experience in Toyota 86s, TA2, Stadium Super Trucks and Aussie Tin Tops.
Morris, who is campaigning in a ZB Commodore, sits 18th in the Super2 standings.
JETT JOHNSON (Super3)
Another third generation driver, Jett hails from one of Australia’s most famous motor racing families.
Jett is the grandson of V8 legend Dick Johnson, whose eponymous Ford team continues to race in the category, while his father Steven was also a Supercars race winner.
The 18-year-old is making his debut in the Super3 series this year after progressing from go-karts to Hyundai Excels, before claiming a TA2 Muscle Car title win in 2022.
Sitting third in the Super3 driver standings, Johnson has finished top-five in all of his six races so far this season, including three podiums.
Johnson this week completed an evaluation day with Dick Johnson Racing in the team’s wildcard Gen3 Mustang – his first drive of the current generation Supercar.
RONAN MURPHY (Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge series)
His father is famous for producing one of the most talked about laps ever around Mount Panorama and now Ronan is hoping to follow in his dad’s path behind the wheel.
The son of Kiwi star Greg, Ronan, 21, is cutting his racing teeth in the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge series this year in his first season in Australia.
Greg Murphy was a four-time Bathurst 1000 winner and famously produced the ‘Lap of the Gods’ around Mount Panorama with his blistering top-10 shootout lap – the fastest ever around the circuit at the time – in 2003.
Ronan currently sits second in the driver standings for the Porsche category, having scored his maiden win on the Supercars undercard at Symmons Plains in May.
He has scored a top-five finish in seven out of his nine Porsche races so far this season.
CAMERON McLEOD (Super3)
Cameron is the grandson of Peter McLeod, who won Bathurst alongside Peter Brock and David Parsons for HDT Racing in 1987, while his father Ryan was also a long-time racer.
The 17-year-old from the Gold Coast made his debut in the Super3 series this year and is already making an impact, sitting second in the standings after three rounds.
Before his move into the Supercar feeder series, Cameron raced in the final three rounds of the British Formula 4 championship in late 2021 and claimed a podium finish on debut at Silverstone.
He returned home to Australia last year to compete in the national Formula Ford series, finishing third overall.
McLeod has claimed four wins – five podiums overall – from his six Super3 races this season and has taken pole in every race bar one.
CLAY RICHARDS (Toyota 86s/TCR)
Another third generation racer, Clay is following in the footsteps of his father, Steven, and grandfather ‘Gentleman’ Jim Richards.
Between them, Jim (seven) and Steven Richards (five) have a combined 12 Bathurst 1000 wins, while Jim was also a four-time series champion.
Clay, 23, is on his racing journey in the Toyota 86 series, while he has also featured in the TCR Australia series this year.
He was a Formula Ford winner at Phillip Island in 2021, a race winner at Townsville in 86s last year, has two top-fives in 86s this year and a podium on debut at Winton in TCR.
ENDS
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Originally published as Supercars 2023: The sons of racing guns bringing famous V8 surnames back to the track
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