The NZV8 Ute Series ventures into fresh territory when it makes its first appearance at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park this weekend.
The new venue which hosts Round 3 of the five round series is sure to present unique challenges for competitors.
The series is delicately poised with Chris Pither of Palmerston North, ‘The Doctor’, leading the point standings after dominant performances at the first two rounds. Pither has been fastest in qualifying at both rounds before going on to claim overall honours, winning 5 of the 6 races. His closest rival, Caine Lobb of Whangarei ‘The Ginja Ninja’, broke Pither’s winning streak in the final race at the second round.
Pither is looking for a solid round in his ENZED Falcon to extend his points lead over Lobb and his Mark Cromie Holden. That would ease the pressure a little as the series heads south for the final two rounds next month. At present the lead is 40 points and as Pither points out, just one race where he does not finish would see that lead evaporate.
Defending champion Lobb needs a good weekend and says, “I have to try and turn it around. I need to be getting some points on Chris. It’s unknown territory. I’ve had a test day there but there is no benchmark to measure times against yet.” He describes the circuit as “cool”. “It’s short and quite technical. It is hard to put a lap together, the corners lead onto each other. If you get one wrong it snowballs on you. It is surprisingly tight, it’s interesting. A lot will come down to gear ratios.”
Drivers such as Graham ‘Snr Burner’ Beirne, ‘Dirty Dave’ Kernohan, Geoff ‘Spence’ Spencer, ‘The Loan Ranger’ Mike Pero, Peter ‘Rocketman’ Robb, Bob ‘Sly & Dirty’ Grove, Steve ‘Rusty’ Elliott and Mike Lightfoot will provide plenty of spice in this action packed category while Aucklander James ‘Huggi’ Urquhart is one of those who have driven at Hampton Downs. “It’s different. There will be different lines for qualifying and racing. The best lines are wide and controlled going in but there will be a lot of diving in under brakes during the races. That will mean defensive lines. It could be great for the panel beaters!”
Testing for competitors in the 2009/2010 NZV8 Ute Series takes place during two twilight sessions on Thursday evening as well as on Friday. A 20 minute qualifying session will be held on Saturday morning at 11.00am. Later that afternoon the first race, an 8 lap contest is scheduled for 2.30pm. The second race is another of 8 laps duration from a marble draw start on Sunday morning at 9.50am. At 11.10am a reverse marble draw race over 8 laps will be held before the final race over 10 laps at 2.35pm which will be from a grid based on round points to that time.
The Hampton Downs layout in use this weekend is a 2.8 kilometre circuit with an elevation difference of 11 metres. The track features six corners, four right-handers and two left. It is situated midway between Hamilton and Auckland.
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