Kiwi-Australian rivalry may flare up again this weekend when the BNT New Zealand V8′s 2011/12 season begins at Pukekohe.

Veteran Aussie V8 Supercar driver Jason Bargwanna, a former Bathurst winner, is seen as one of the favourites for this summer’s title series  especially after going very fast in the Tulloch Motorsport Falcon in pre-season testing.

“The NZ V8s championship is the pinnacle of New Zealand motorsport and we’re here to win it,” Bargwanna said. “It’s tough racing and I love it!”

Bargwanna made his debut in the championship last season and became a race-winner after he got the hang of the Kiwi V8s and helped his team develop their car.

While other Australian V8 Supercar drivers like David Besnard and Luke Youlden have contested the series in the past, none has managed to win it yet.

Kiwi aces Angus Fogg, Tim Edgell and Paul Manuell all see “Bargs”, as he is usually known, as a major threat but also fancy their own chances.

Hard-charging Fogg has come close to winning the championship in the past and feels this could well be his season. (more…)

Angus Fogg spent much of last season’s NZ V8s Championship leading the pack and is tagged with a better chance of securing the coveted title in a new look Radio Sport Falcon when the new series begins this weekend 5 November at Pukekohe Park Raceway.

The Birkenhead based 44-year-old race car engineer had the title wrenched from his grip at last season’s Hamilton street race weekend, a blow he says has improved his chances for the 2011/2012 championship season.

“Lessons learned put us in a stronger position now, leaving no stone unturned both from the technical and mechanical viewpoint. It’ll be a case of go hard or go home,” says Fogg.

“Our strategy of collecting as many points as we can and keeping out of trouble worked perfectly well last season, until Hamilton. So we know what we need to do to lead the series, but being who I am I cannot have a bit of a crack can I?” quipped Fogg. “It’s just my nature to get in there and muscle for the lead, but it has to be tempered.” (more…)

The NZ V8 Ute Series continues to be a success story of kiwi motorsport with recent news that the racing category has been granted approval to become a New Zealand Championship this season.

V8 Utes have had their own series in New Zealand since the 2007/2008 season. After three seasons the popularity of the class was recognised when it was invited to become a part of the Tier 1 Summer Motor Race Series last season. It was an crowd-pleasing motor racing season which saw the title battle come down to the final race of the season on the streets of Hamilton. After such a stunning debut in Tier 1 the category has now taken the final step on its way to becoming a premier New Zealand Championship class.

Since its inception the NZ V8 Utes category has boasted three series winners, 2007/2008 – Matt Lockwood, 2008/2009 – Caine Lobb and Chris Pither who won the title in 2009/2010 as well as 2010/2011. Lockwood has since shown real pace in occasional appearances in NZV8s while both Lobb and Pither are moving on next season to other opportunities.

It is understood that a purchaser has been found for Lobb’s Holden Ute already and with all three past title winners missing from the grid next season the first full blown NZ V8 Ute Champion will be a different name. (more…)

MotorSport New Zealand has announced that it has reached an agreement with the NZV8s category management team on the way forward for the NZV8 Championship racing category.

With the new V8 Supertourer Series due to kick off later this year, some NZV8 race teams have swapped over to the faster new series. Finding themselves in a battle for survival the NZV8 Championship is looking for new ways to stay relevant in a much more competitive climate.

MotorSport New Zealand president Shayne Harris announced yesterday that the 2011/12 New Zealand championship will be contested in the current cars with some possible enhancements which will be announced shortly.

“Construction of the new generation Ford FG and Holden VE models that will be introduced for the 2012/13 season is well underway and further details will be released next month,” he said. “These new cars should not be confused with the V8 Supertourer. That car is contesting a new series outside the MotorSport New Zealand championships. (more…)

LG Motorsport’s Angus Fogg maintains a narrow advantage at the top of the BNT V8s Championship points-table after the sixth and penultimate round of the premier touring car series in Taupo over the weekend.

Fogg, from Auckland’s North Shore, has a lead of just seven points over former NZV8 champion Kayne Scott after a challenging weekend for the LG-ZB Falcon driver.

“In Saturday’s qualifying, there just wasn’t any pace in the car and we weren’t 100% sure what was wrong,” says Fogg, who managed the eleventh fastest qualifying time, just missing the top ten.

Race one and things looked to be going Fogg’s way as the driver got an absolutely brilliant start to leapfrog from 11th to fourth within a few hundred metres of the rolling start.

“I got a good break around the outside over a bunch who were snarling each other up. That was pretty good to hold fourth and take the 54 points. We changed a couple of things with the car, but regrettably the car was pretty average and it was a bit like being a ping pong ball in that second race. The LG-ZB Falcon sustained some damage and eighth was the best we could do.”

The team changed the car’s set-up back to what it had been, giving Fogg a stronger car for the long reverse grid race. “The car was pretty good,” says Fogg. “I was rocketing my way forward through the field pretty well until I flat-spotted a tyre. A lap later the right front tyre was ripped off the rim after I’d gone past the pit lane entry, so had to do a whole lap on a flat tyre. The LG-ZB Falcon crew got the wheel changed and at least got me out to finish the race and score whatever points we could.” (more…)

Defending New Zealand V8 champion driver Craig Baird says this weekend’s 11 — 13 February race weekend at Manfeild will be a challenge he is capable of turning to his advantage in the race for the 2010/2011 title.

Currently second in the standings, Baird’s United Video Racing team Ford has already had a share of the title lead before a disastrous final race at the last round near Timaru.  Baird now trails leader Angus Fogg by 56 points after the fourth of seven rounds.

“It’s been a track we’ve done very well at in the past,” said the Queensland based Kiwi.  “Getting pole position like we have in the past does set the theme for the weekend.”

“Certainly getting solid points in the first two races is important, but surviving the final reverse grid race is just as crucial — that’s the sealer to your weekend and what un-did us at Timaru. A track like Manfeild is very good for the final race; being open with the cambered corners you can have a good crack because of the higher number of passing opportunities.  A championship is about finishing every race — one position ahead of your rivals.”

And that’s what Baird says is the luck factor motorsport has as an Achilles heel:  “We’ll all have a bad race somewhere along the lines and I’d like to think that bit of bad luck is now behind me — the fortune scales can swing back.

Reinforcing the point, the reason Baird was forced to retire at the series fourth round near Timaru was from an impact that created a mechanical failure.  Dropping oil from the car’s rear differential Baird was amid a flurry of cars that slid from the track on the slick surface conditions.

Investigating what caused the failure, team head Garry Pedersen found a large impact to the rear of the #1 United Video Racing Ford set in motion a chain reaction.

“A massive hit in the rear side of the car broke the Watts linkage pin that holds the rear differential in place.  The impact also sheared mounting bolts in the rear, which allowed the diff to move, pulling the centre out of it — and allowing its contents to spill on the track,” said Pedersen. (more…)