On this week’s show we head out to the Thunder in the Park event at Pukekohe where we take a good look at some of the muscular metal taking part. We check out Colin Meadow’s C4 Corvette, Graham Barnes’ GT2 V8 Ford Capri and plenty of others. We go onboard in Kayne Scott’s V8 race car, which is now the fastest circuit racing saloon car in New Zealand, and have a scorching hot lap around Pukekohe. From circuit racing to the strip, where we go to Fram Autolite Dragway and catch the action from the NAC Drag Combat. We watch as the best cars from the V8 scene battle against the fastest imports. We take a special look at Wayne Yearbury’s awesome 6-second doorslammer (pictured).

It’s set to be an epic show and not to be missed so don’t forget to tune in this Sunday.

NZV8 TV is on at 2:30 pm, this Sunday on TV1.

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Pukekohe’s ‘Thunder in the Park’ weekend, and the fourth round of the 2010/11 IRC Series, treated fans to plenty of close racing and high speed action across ten diverse race classes.

Having gained a reputation in recent seasons as being a highlight of the New Zealand motorsport calendar, the 2010 Thunder in the Park event did little to disappoint, with Sunday in particular set under terrific weather conditions with the sun beating down upon the 200 plus entries scattered throughout the Pukekohe Park pit complex.

The inclusion of former NZV8 and Toyota Racing Series champions Kayne Scott and Earl Bamber into the GT1 class was the focus of many as the pair did battle at the front of the field in their Tranzam machines.

Despite setting blistering lap times (Scott with a 54.5 second lap in the final handicap race) Bamber failed to finish all three races, with Scott also DNFing the opening two, citing car trouble around the high speed, high risk Pukekohe circuit.

This left John Rae, Grant Brennan and GT2 class runner Graeme Barnes to share the three race wins; GT2 drivers Barnes and Jon Telford finishing in the top two positions in the final race after the weekend was initially dominated by Brian Gray and ‘The Metalman’ Clark Proctor.

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The 2010/11 IRC Series arrives at Pukekohe Park this weekend for the ‘Thunder in the Park’ event. Remaining true to its tradition of providing a huge variety of vehicles and numbers, the 2010 Thunder in the Park event has attracted over 215 entries across its ten competing classes.

Large crowds are expected to witness the action in the scorching Auckland heat that is forecast for the weekend’s racing.

The Pukekohe round of the IRC Series marks the halfway point in the 2010/11 championships, with hard-fought rounds already contested at Manfeild and Taupo, and a Trophy Round at Hampton Downs in November giving drivers a chance to test the limits of their machines on three diverse circuits each with their own unique character.

But Pukekohe Park is another beast altogether. As one of the fastest race circuits in the world with agonisingly long straights and fast sweeping corners riddled with bumps and undulation, drivers will have to be on their toes to keep their machines facing in the right direction this weekend.

Given the nature of the Pukekohe circuit, a draw card for the event is most certainly the big power, big noise and big excitement of the GT1, GT2, GTRNZ and Muscle Car classes.

Some of the country’s fastest saloon cars will line up including a number of ex-V8 Supercars, Chev Camaros and Corvettes, Andy Greenslade’s new Jaguar XKR and Clarke Proctor’s giant killing turbocharged Ford Escort.

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