Skaife, Kelly pair up; Todd at HRT until 2007.

The Holden Racing Team has not only announced that Todd Kelly and Mark Skaife will drive together at Sandown and Bathurst, but also confirmed that Kelly has signed a contract to stay with the team for the next two seasons.

The V8 paddock was alive with rumors that Kelly would find a seat elsewhere in the field, possibly even filling Marcos Ambrose's vacant position at the dominant Stone Brothers Racing outfit. Instead, he has signed on to stay with HRT.

"This is the result I wanted," Kelly said, "To me, the Holden Racing Team represents the pinnacle of motor sport in Australia.

"I have always said that I wanted to drive for the team that would give me the best opportunity to win a championship and I believe that is what I'm going to get."

Lead driver and team owner Skaife said the decision to re-sign Kelly was simple.

"We wanted the best available driver on the market, and right now that's Todd Kelly," he said.

"He has shown outstanding form this year and really made sure we couldn't look past him. At 25, it's likely that he still has his best form in front of him so we're delighted to have him back for the next two years."

Meanwhile, Skaife's decision to pair up with Kelly sees the team hold what is undoubtedly the strongest driver line-up going into this year's endurance events.

Most teams, including arch-rivals Stone Brothers Racing, are choosing to split their two full-time drivers, and pair them with men from outside the series, in a hope to salvage as many points as possible from the blue riband events.

Both Skaife and Kelly have seen solid form this year, and this talent, combined with the speed of the iconic HRT Commodore, should give Holden the best possible opportunity to maintain their recent run of Bathurst victories.