Stability the key to HRT title bid.

After a 2004 season they probably rather forget, the Holden Racing Team have launched their bid back to glory in Australia's V8 Supercar series.

With a livery that majors on the red of the red and white HRT colours, the squad is aiming to hark back to their dominant days of the 2001 and 2002 seasons where the HRT Holdens took both the championship and the jewel in the V8 Supercar crown, Bathurst.

Work has been concentrated on the VZ chassis on which the squad's hopes lie, and the word out of Melbourne is that it is the most technically advanced produced by the team.

"We worked extremely hard to bring the new chassis on for the Tasmania race, which gave us two meetings' worth of data as a head-start on this year," explains Mark Skaife.

"The car was sensational - speed-wise, it was certainly quick enough and responsive to setup changes - and means we can take a running start into 2005, rather than rolling an unraced chassis out of the truck and hoping for the best."

Skaife and team-mate Todd Kelly both get to start the season in identical 2005-spec cars.

"Todd will have all the benefits of the development we've done on the first car, as well as being able to provide immediate feedback for consistent back-to-back development of the two cars throughout the season."

Skaife, a five-time Australian touring car champion and four-time Bathurst 1000 victor, said he had no doubt that the team would benefit from the hard lessons learned in 2004, a season where the team certainly struggled.

"You tend to learn a lot about yourselves under adversity and we're a stronger, better team for the experience," Skaife said. "The fact that 100 per cent of 'Team Red' are returning in 2005 speaks to how solid we really are. Stability in motorsport is crucial.

"There's a real buzz of excitement and anticipation around the place, like everyone knows that something special is just around the corner."