Finally on to the third round:
| Rd 3: Pukekohe | | |
| Distance: | 6 hours | |
| Starters: | unknown (guess around 35-40) | |
| Cars Eligible: | Same as Manfield | |
| POLE: | Kent Baigent/Neal Lowe | BMW 635CSi |
| RESULTS: | | |
| 1st | Kent Baigent/Neal Lowe | BMW 635CSi |
| 2nd | Neville Crichton/Wayne Wilkinson | BMW 635CSi |
| 3rd | Bruce Fowler/Kirk Stoneman | Holden Commodore VH SS |
| 4th | Paul Adams/Allan Woolf | Toyota Corolla AE86 GT Liftback |
| | | |
| NZ Production Results | | |
| 1st | drivers to be confirmed | Mitsubishi Cordia Turbo |
| *indicates this needs confirmation | | |
| Major retirements: | Denis Hulme/Ray Smith Holden Commodore VH SS; Bruce Anderson/Dick Johnson Ford Fairmont XE 5.8 V8 | |
The Bathurst '85 report gave a brief report on this race.
After suffering electrical problems in the first two races, Baigent arranged for a new motor to be flown in from Germany. With this fitted in time for the last practice session, Baigent took his first pole for the series, edging out Crichton.
I'd love to get confirmation, but memory has Hulme, Francevic, Johnson, Fowler, McMillan and Adams next up.
In the race itself, the Baigent/Lowe BMW won by half a minute from the Crichton/Wilkinson BMW. The Crichton car led most of the race, but a jammed wheel nut at the final stop allowed the Baigent car ahead. Lowe in turn did a marathon three and three quarter hours at the wheel. He pitted for the final stop a few laps early and Baigent wasn't in his overalls ready to take over.
The Fowler/Stoneman Commodore was reliable, but 16 laps behind the BMWs (on a 1m 30 second lap, that is over 22 minutes behind....).
I'll need confirmation, but I think the Corolla of Adams/Woolf was fourth, rather than third as I noted earlier in the thread.
The Hulme/Smith Commodore suffered fuel starvation problems and the Anderson/Johnson Falcon broke an axle.