The VIP Petfoods team fought against difficult conditions to top a Porsche-full podium in the 9-1/2-hour endurance race at Hampton Downs last weekend.

The race was originally scheduled to be 12-hours in duration but lost almost a fifth of its time after thick early-morning fog covered the 2.8km North Island circuit.

When the event finally got underway at 9.30am, two and a half hours after the scheduled start time, Australians Klark and Tony Quinn and New Zealander Stefan Webling dominated the race from the outset in the VIP Petfoods 997 RSR.

The trans-Tasman trio qualified on pole position and led all but three of the 471 laps. When Tony Quinn crossed the finish line at 7pm, he had a 29-lap lead over the second-placed 997 GT3 of Australians Malcolm and Brett Niall and Clint Harvey.

Completing the trifecta for the German manufacturer were New Zealanders Denis Roderick, David Glasson and Aaron Harris in their 996 TT. (more…)

Taupo is cementing a global reputation as the home of one of the longest, fastest and toughest endurance races in the world with the Taupo 1000 offroad race taking place later this month.

Almost 100 offroad race teams from Australia, North America and New Zealand will compete in the two-day 1000 kilometre forest endurance race that has become the sport’s Australasian flagship event. The race will take place on the weekend of the 19 – 21 August.

International teams from the USA and Australia head the strongest entry list for the in many years.  Many in the sport are convinced this year’s entry will be a record-breaker with 92 or more cars and trucks taking their place on the grid when the race starts.

Race organiser Tony Saelman says though records of entries in the first couple of events are not available, the 2011 entry is certainly the biggest in the years he has been involved in the race. (more…)

When you subscribe or re-subscribe to NZV8 this month you’ll receive a free double pass to the VIP Petfoods 12 Hour Endurance Race on August 12. You’ll also go into the draw to win a Dynatron NZ Safe-N-Sure Package for your car, worth $1000.

Come experience the intensity of a top tier endurance race featuring some of New Zealand’s best cars and drivers, all at the new Hampton Downs Motorsport Park. All you need to do is pick up a new subscription or renew your current subscription and we will send a free double pass straight out to you, on us. A subscription to NZV8 is already a great way to save on the cover price of the magazine, but throw these tickets in the mix and you’ve got one hell of a good deal.

Subscribe to NZV8 from only $49!

• Get every issue delivered direct to your door, before it is available in the shops.
• Never miss an issue.
• Automatic entry into all our subscriber draws.

(more…)

Things didn’t go to plan for three-time NZ V8 Touring Car champion, John McIntyre during his first shot at the North Island Endurance Series at Pukekohe Raceway on the weekend.

Partnered with endurance veteran Mike Eady, the V8-powered BMW M3 race car McIntyre was driving experienced a collapsed left-rear shock absorber. This meant the racing day unfortunately finished early for McIntyre and Eady. There are positives with the team qualifying well and running as high as fourth position in the 22-car field when the issue became too much of a hindrance to continue racing safely.

“We were reaching speeds of 265km/h and at that pace you need to have every confidence in your equipment.  Unfortunately the car was becoming too much of a handful and we had to make the disappointing call to retire,” said Mike Eady.

“It’s the first time in my career I’ve had a shock absorber fail and it’s the first time this car hasn’t finished a race.  It’s frustrating as we were well positioned and had an excellent fuel strategy in play which could have seen us finish on the podium.” (more…)

West Auckland offroad racer Donn Attwood crossed the finish line in the recent 160 km endurance offroad race at Manukau in absolute agony.

He had driven most of the race distance with crippling cramps in both his legs, and had to be helped from the car at race end.

But the result that awaited him was well worth the pain: he has won both the final race of the 2010 Asset Finance New Zealand Offroad Racing Championship and the outright title itself.

Attwood, who won the first round of this year’s championship but has not had winning form since, had qualified outside the top ten for the race.  Several unlimited-class trucks and race cars qualified ahead of him along with two racers driving fast Super 1600 cars similar to his: local racer Warren Rogers in sixth spot and Wayne Moriarty of Christchurch in seventh.

South Head’s Raana Horan, third on points for the championship, had qualified on pole.  He had dominated the top five shootout, lining up on the front row of the grid in his supercharged Nissan Titan V8 alongside Neville Smith’s Cougar Honda Turbo.  Behind them were Nick Leahy in his diminutive but fast Cougar Challenger VW and Clim Lammers in his Nissan turbo-powered class one car.

But at the rolling start of the enduro, as Smith and Horan fought over the outright lead, Attwood forced his way into contention with a determined first lap, accelerating from 12^th overall to sixth in one lap and then settling into a steady rhythm.

“I was aiming to stay in touch with the leaders and see what happened.  From fifth in the points table I knew the title was probably a long shot, but stranger things have happened and it’s important to conserve your car through a long fast race like this so you can capitalise on any opportunities that you get.”

(more…)

There’s a rich tradition of Hollywood actors dabbling in motor sports. Great names like Steve McQueen and the late Paul Newman instantly come to mind, but Aussie Eric Bana is working up a reputation of his own. The star has been campaigning his Porsche 996 Cup at various events, and is now gearing up to compete at one of Australia’s biggest motor races: the WPS Bathurst 12 Hour.

The endurance race at Mount Panorama will feature a record 49 teams this year, driving Alfas, BMWs, Fords, Holdens, Hondas, Mazdas, Mitsubishis, Nissans, Porsches, Subarus and Toyotas — 12 marques in all, representing eight of the ten top-selling automakers in Australia. Pictured above with his much loved Ford Falcon Bana will be driving a Mitsubishi Evolution X in the race, competing with his team mates against V8 Supercar and Australian rally drivers.