Shane van Gisbergen took the win in Hamilton’s ITM 400 V8 Supercars street race yesterday and earned his place as the prince of NZ Motorsport. The win was van Gisbergen’s first in the V8 Supercars and was also the first time a New Zealand-born driver has won the Hamilton event.

After starting from fourth spot on the grid, the 21-year-old from Auckland drove the race of his life to beat home Lee Holdsworth and Garth Tander and give the Stone Brothers Racing team its first win since 2008.

After showing similar form early on only to fall foul of pit issues in the first race of the weekend on Saturday, van Gisbergen always looked sharp on track yesterday, with a fast car and strategy which this time went his way throughout the 59-lap race.

In fact the only possible threat to his winning hopes was more of the rain showers which made the street circuit treacherous on Saturday. But in stark contrast to the fickle conditions the day before the rain stayed away long enough for today’s race to be run in near-idyllic conditions, with only the lightest of showers materialising in the closing laps of the race. (more…)

John McIntyre has won his third BNT V8s Championship title in an intense final weekend of racing  on the Hamilton street circuit.

Winning the 2010-11 NZV8 championship title marks a milestone for McIntyre and his race team, John McIntyre Racing, as they become the first driver/owner/team combination to win three titles in the hotly-contested New Zealand V8 touring car series. Together the Hawke’s Bay-based team has won 38 races in five seasons after McIntyre successfully collected two further races on the streets of Hamilton.

“We’re absolutely delighted!” says McIntyre. “It’s been a really tough season, up and down with no points from several races set against eight wins from 21 races this season.

“The pressure was on right to the end. We had to do well in the final race to secure victory over Angus Fogg, who has been a tremendous competitor all season.”

On Friday, McIntyre qualified on pole for the first of three races for the NZV8 finale in Hamilton where the NZV8 teams competed as part of the ITM 400 V8 Supercar event. (more…)

The 2010/2011 edition of the BNT V8s Championship has had some exciting racing from its beginning last November and as drivers head into the final round at Hamilton next weekend, the title will be decided in what will be a crowd pleasing  three-way street fight.

Once again the V8 category will be a major support act to the Australian V8 Supercars contesting the ITM 400 but this year features the final  round of New Zealand’s premier motor racing championship rather than a stand-alone trophy outing. Frankly, it would be hard to find a better script with three of the country’s top drivers covered by a mere 44 points with a total of 225 points to be raced for over the weekend.

The driver in the box seat is Auckland’s Angus Fogg (LG / Newstalk ZB Falcon) who has all but led the points table from Round 1 and arrives at Hamilton with a slender lead of just 32 points. The popular “Foggy” has had more than his share of ups and downs but has kept the important points tally ticking over through consistency which has been his main strategy throughout the season.

The man many favour to top the points at the right time – namely at the end of the final race – is Hamilton’s international racing star Craig Baird whose United Video Falcon actually led the points table for a week between Rounds 3 and 4. The master tactician will be stalking Fogg all weekend and with immense international experience in his favour could be the man to watch when the lights go out for Saturday’s opening race.

Never to be discounted but with a tougher task ahead is Nelson driver John McIntyre (Blackwoods Paykels Protector Safety Falcon) who must gain a 44 point advantage to overhaul the leader and a 12 point advantage to tip Baird out of the runner-up spot. Considering his superb performances on street circuits (in BNT V8s and V8 Supercars) together with the fact he has won twice as many races this season as any other driver (six wins to Fogg’s three) it is a target “Johnny Mac” will be well and truly capable of achieving. (more…)

Tickets are now on sale for next year’s new-look, new format 2011 ITM400 Hamilton V8 Supercar Championship Series street race.

Set to roar around town on the weekend from the 15 — 17 April 2011, V8 Supercars is bringing its  ‘race all day, rock all night’ formula to Hamilton for the first time, delivering not only world-class motor racing but a concert featuring international artists.

V8 Supercars is in discussions with several international acts to play at next year’s event where concert admission is included as part of a same-day ticket. The full music line-up is expected to be announced next month.

Shane Howard, Chief Operating Officer of V8 Supercars, says they are thrilled to be offering Kiwis a new innovative experience for next year’s ITM400. “2011 will see the ITM400 step up to a new level that will attract people from all over the country,” he said. “With a big international act adding a new dimension to the event, this year there is something for everyone, including more support categories and a dedicated Family Zone with great entertainment catering for all ages. We are all about engaging with the fans and want them to be able to get up close and personal to our drivers, teams and the race cars. As part of this we will throw open the full circuit each evening for the people.”

The five support category classes are set to include the premier NZ V8 Sedans, Trans-Tasman V8 Utes, Historic Muscle Cars, Open Sedans/GT1 and for the their debut at the circuit the New Zealand Drift Cars.

In another first a newly covered set of platinum grandstands will be built on the action-packed turn three in the Hinemoa grandstand area of previous years.

According to Howard, “Last year ITM400 attracted more than 100,000 spectators, so we are confident next year’s much bigger offering will attract even more people and visitors to Hamilton as a huge boost for the city’s economy.”

Kids 12 years and under will receive free circuit and V8 Supercar paddock entry with a paying adult, making the event suitable for the whole family.

Tickets can be purchased from Ticketek agencies or by calling 0800 TICKETEK.

Full ticket prices, current event information and terms can be found at: www.v8supercars.com/ITM400