OF all the V8 Supercars drivers to miss out on last year’s Bathurst 12 Hour due to the controversial clash with the championship’s test day, arguably none would have been more disappointed than Rick Kelly.

The former V8 Supercars champion was in Sydney as the NISMO team he wanted to be part of piloted their Nissan GT-R GT3 to success at the 12 Hour.

But this year there is no schedule clash and he is free to race.

Kelly is hungry to succeed after his sole attempt with Nissan in the endurance event ended with an incident at Brock’s Skyline in 2014.

Kelly will team up with two of last year’s winners, Japanese star Katsumasa Chiyo and GT Academy winner Florian Strauss.

Kelly said he couldn’t be happier for the team to  win last year, but couldn’t hide his disappointment at not being in the driver’s seat.

“I am really happy to be coming back to the Bathurst 12 Hour with NISMO,” Kelly said.

“We showed great pace and potential in 2014, but unfortunately our race ended early in the day. Then in 2015 the team, car and drivers all performed superbly to take a spectacular win. I was so pleased for Nissan to win, but it was tough to watch as opposed to being a part of it.

“So I’m really happy to be coming back to reunite with the NISMO team, with Chiyo-san, Florian and the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3. That car is just amazing to drive, especially around Bathurst, where it is unbelievable.”

Kelly’s 2014 campaign at the 12 Hour – also NISMO’s first – was much anticipated.

But their race came to an end on lap 58 as they were part of a heavy contact with the Clearwater Racing Ferrari entry across Brock’s Skyline.

Next month Kelly will make his 12 Hour return knowing he has both a team and car capable of delivering at Mount Panorama.

However, with the quality of the entry list increasing each year, Kelly knows it’s going to be a hell of a task to go back-to-back.

“The Bathurst 12 Hour continues to grow from strength to strength, so I know the competition will be fierce with lots of strong cars and teams and a great mix of local and international drivers,” he said.

“I think we can be right up the front, but Bathurst usually puts on crazy racing, so the idea will be to play it smart and be in the mix come the last hour of the race.”

NISMO are looking to build upon a very successful 2015 in which they won races on four continents and claimed championships in the Blancpain GT Endurance Series in Europe and GT300 Super GT Championship in Japan.