V8SuperTourer driver Andy Booth savoured three strong second place results in this weekend’s fourth and final round of the V8SuperTourer sprint championship to finish fourth overall in the new series.

Racing at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, midway between Auckland and Hamilton, Booth battled for the lead with round winner Scott McLaughlin in the intense action at the front of the field throughout the weekend’s three races.

“It’s been a very successful weekend for the Woodstock Racing team,” says Booth, from Auckland’s North Shore. “To have moved from seventh in the sprint series’ standings to fourth highlights the incredible effort that the team has made since our less than successful round at Manfeild in April.”

Booth says the poor results at Manfeild highlighted the team’s relative lack of testing. “Since Manfeild, AV8 Motorsport had two very constructive days of testing at Hampton Downs, and this weekend’s results proved the value, especially in terms of how all our team members work together.”

Booth was fifth quickest in the all-important qualifying session on Saturday morning and swiftly took advantage of McLaughlin’s nervous start and the typical turn one chaos at Hampton Downs to take the lead on the opening lap of race one, a 20-lapper. But the Woodstock Honey Holden driver didn’t have any answers for McLaughlin’s bold passing move on the second lap. While lapping with similar times to McLaughlin, Booth wasn’t able to catch the teenager despite holding off then-championship leader Jonny Reid to score a solid second place.

“We had good pace in the second race too,” says Booth. “Although the safety car interventions – five of them – were frustrating, they did help preserve my rear tyres.

“And in the final 35-lap race, we were again second after having felt at our most competitive. Those first few laps racing with Scott McLaughlin were fantastic! But once again the safety car came out and Scott got the advantage once we restarted.

“Overall the racing was hugely enjoyable to be part of, to be able to race with such confidence with Scott was very enjoyable. You can race with a lot of confidence in the V8SuperTourer, right to the very end of a race.

“Our thanks to the whole team for a fantastic weekend of racing. There was a huge Woodstock Honey presence at Hampton Downs which says a lot about the whole series and it creating a great situation at which to launch a new product by a nationwide brand like Woodstock.

“From here, we’re all looking to the three-round endurance race series which starts in Taupo in September. Andy Booth Racing is looking to announce our co-driver within the next month.”

The V8SuperTourers endurance championship visits Taupo, Pukekohe and Christchurch between September and November.

Kiwi teenage racing sensation Andre Heimgartner became New Zealand’s youngest ever national motorsport champion earlier this year and now will make his touring car debut in the high powered world of V8 SuperTourer racing next season in a deal announced yesterday.

Heimgartner, from East Auckland, will drive a second Holden Commodore VE II V8 SuperTourer for the AV8 Motorsport team and slot into the role of team mate to veteran V8 racer and two time NZV8 champion Andy Booth.

It was back in March this year that Heimgartner made history when the year 11 student from St Kentigern College took out the NZ Formula Ford title at just 15 years of age, making him the youngest ever national championship winner. The step up from a 115 horsepower open wheel race car to the 600hp, 7 litre V8 SuperTourer  will be a big challenge for the youngster but Andre says he can’t wait to line up on the grid at the inaugural round of the V8 SuperTourer Series in February next year. (more…)

Kiwi V8 race driver Greg ‘Murph’ Murphy was impressed by the new V8SuperTourer after completing a full test session in the prototype of the car at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park last Friday (27 May).

“This was my first drive in the new car and it’s great! We’re definitely on the right track having a prototype for testing and we’re also on the right track with where this prototype will take us with the finished race cars when they get to New Zealand later in the year,” said the Melbourne-based wheelman.

“There are so many similarities to a V8 Supercar, but the V8SuperTourer is lighter. It’s got plenty of power; the chassis is great; it looks great and sounds great. The whole project is very exciting. There’s a little work to do, but the race car is a nice, simple, solid package. Everyone who has driven the car today is smiling – they just love it.”

Murphy officially confirmed on Friday that he would drive in the V8SuperTourer series when it kicks off in February next year, subject to there being no date clashes with his other racing commitments in V8Supercars in Australia. “It’s my intention to be on the starting grid in a VE Holden V8SuperTourer,” says Murphy.

There were wet on-track conditions last Friday but Murphy completed a solid test session as engineers monitored the car’s performance around the 2.8km Hampton Downs circuit. (more…)

The first serious test session with the new V8SuperTourer car took place at Hampton Downs last Friday (6 May). According to reports the new car handled itself well and is set up nicely for racing duties next season.

It was current NZV8 champion John McIntyre who completed the most laps during a full-on shakedown test of the new V8 race car, with fellow two-time NZV8 champion Andy Booth also enjoying a good stint behind the wheel.

In 92 laps on the 2.8km Hampton circuit, the prototype V8SuperTourer didn’t miss a beat.

“We had absolutely no major issues with the car,” said McIntyre. “This is one outstanding race car straight out of the box and we’ve had a really successful day.”

The prototype V8SuperTourer has only just been completed and previously had a 15 lap shakedown at very low speed at Hampton Downs last Tuesday.

McIntyre said, despite the very wet conditions early in the test session, it took just a few laps for him to feel very comfortable in the 7-litre V8-powered racer. “Within three laps at the most, I felt very confident in the car, confident enough to be reaching speeds of well over 200km/h, sliding the car and getting to grips with its handling.”

Between McIntyre and Booth, 92 laps of testing were completed. Various suspension adjustments were trialled to see the car’s reactions around the undulating Hampton course.

“The chassis and handling is very responsive and able to be fine-tuned to suit conditions and the driver. There was a dry line right at the end – just a little damp in places – and our last lap was 1 minute 7.2 seconds and there’s definitely a lot more pace yet to come. (more…)

A polished final performance helped Andy Booth and The Rock Commodore storm home to take third place overall in the BNT NZV8 Championship at the ITM400 street race in Hamilton over the weekend.

After struggling for pace and ending up eleventh in Friday’s qualifying session, the AV8 Motorsport team made crucial adjustments to the car set up for Saturday’s race one and the results were felt immediately. In difficult, wet conditions on Saturday, Booth charged through in the opening laps and swapped positions on multiple occasions with Craig Baird and Andy Knight. As the laps ticked over, Booth found the extra bit of speed needed to edge out Knight and nabbed 4th position by only 0.002 of a second.

Come Sunday morning, the team were still buoyant from the result of race one, and the performance The Rock Commodore was showing. The possibility of some championship position movement in the top four drivers added to the excitement and the team were champing at the bit to hit the track. Booth had a slow start to the race but staged a phenomenal comeback passing numerous cars and starting exciting battles with Wade Henshaw and Eddie Bell as he made his way up the field to third place. Booth’s #23 Commodore was absolutely flying setting the fastest race lap, and challenged Bell doggedly for second position as the pair in turn closed in on race leader John McIntyre. In the closing laps of the race, Booth clipped the wall bending the steering and nursed the car home in third position to bank the valuable championship points. (more…)

Two time NZV8 Champion Andy Booth and the AV8 Motorsport racing team have just made the announcement that together they will enter at least one car in the new V8 SuperTourer series due to reach NZ race tracks in February 2012. Booth is excited about getting behind the wheel of one of the new, purpose built, 7 litre monsters and being part of the new motorsport class.

“This is the most exciting development in New Zealand motorsport since I began racing 20 years ago” said Booth from Auckland’s North Shore.

“After a decade competing in the NZV8 series, including 2 championship wins, we are ready for a further challenge, something new, and SuperTourers is exactly the right thing at the right time for New Zealand motorsport. These cars are faster, the racing will be more exciting, but most importantly, future proofed.”

The inaugural V8 SuperTourer series will run from February through to October 2012 at tracks around New Zealand. The custom built “control” chassis’ have been designed similar to an Australian V8 Supercar, and are powered by fuel injected 7 litre V8 engines with fly by wire technology. The chassis easily allows fitment of new exterior body panels as the relevant road car designs evolve, and has the potential to accommodate other brands and body styles in the future. The first series will be dressed in either Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon bodies. (more…)

All it took was a faulty $22 steering joint to cost Andy Booth, any chance of challenging for a top 3 championship position at round 6 of the BNTV8 series held at Taupo Motorsport Park last weekend. The tie-rod pin snapped little more than 1 lap from the finish of race 2 as the two-time champion held a comfortable 6th position ahead of current NZV8 champ Craig Baird sending the #23 Holden Commodore straight off the track into retirement.

Booth started the weekend qualifying 8th in Saturday’s top ten shootout continuing his record of making every qualifying shootout this season, the crew later discovered a faulty front shock absorber so confidence was high for much improved race pace on Sunday.

Race 1 started with the expected biff and bash into turn 1 with several cars getting turned around in front of the field. The Rock Commodore settled into 6th position as part of a trio of cars chasing down the fast starting John Penny. On the second lap Booth shot down the inside of Penny into turn 1 but locked the rear brakes and ran wide, losing the position plus 2 more. The order remained unchanged for the rest of the 10 lap race and Booth crossed the line in 8th position.

The ill fated race 2 started well with Booth moving up into 6th position after more 1st corner niggle. The first lap jostling created a 2 second gap between the lead group and The Rock car, with improved handling Booth was able to match the pace of the lead group but could not close the gap. Half way though lap 9, the steering joint snapped going through turn 7 and Booth’s race was done.

“I couldn’t believe it when the steering broke but hey, that’s motor racing” Booth said after the race “We had ball joint break on the same corner of the car in practice so it may well be that the steering component was damaged at that time but really it’s just one of those things”

The opportunity to end the weekend on a high came with the 20 lap final race and Booth was determined to make the most of it. After chasing initial race leader Nick Ross for 6 laps The Rock Commodore seized the lead when Ross was slow onto the straight. Booth then lead for the next 6 laps whilst engaging in a thrilling wheel to wheel battle with emerging star Scott McLaughlin who had been devastatingly quick all weekend. The battle had the crowd on their feet for several laps but with the grips level on his car starting to fade Booth struggled to hold off the Supercheap Auto car of McLaughlin and ultimately had to relinquish the lead after a fierce braking duel at the end of the main straight. (more…)

Ever wondered what goes into running one of New Zealand’s top race teams? We visited AV8 Motorsport to find out

If you’re into local circuit racing, chances are you would know the names Andy Booth, Wayne (‘Jacko’ as he is known) Anderson or both, depending on your age, perhaps. The duo first met in 2001, which was the first year the NZV8 Touring Cars really took off at Pukekohe. Wayne was at the track on a practice day a few weeks out from the first round with his wild 800hp 1970 Camaro, which Andy was fascinated with, and the pair got talking.

Wayne and his brother Bruce have been around race cars and race tracks for as long as they can remember, and have competed both locally and at the likes of Bathurst and the Wellington Street Race in their trademark yellow Pinepac Falcons and Mustangs.

Before meeting Wayne, Andy had been overseas for six years racing single seaters, so hadn’t really heard too much about the NZV8s. That practice day at Pukekohe when the two met got Andy interested though, and in their conversation Wayne mentioned he had a competitive car sitting at home.

(more…)