nzv8 championship

[Southern Man]

Originally Posted by Evomike

The sad par is that they only bits from the weekend that made it to TV3 news was a piece on a pommie driver in the Toyota Class and a crash in the V8 race. No results, nothing, nadda, zip.

The scrapbook of the Timaru meeting made out of the Timaru Herald which is part of the Fairfax Group indicates that there was about three full size newspaper pages of cuttings generated over the week of the meeting. These releases generated by the Herald were also circulated via the NZ Press Association.

The questions is why is some this material that is all ready within the largest newspaper group in NZ not released elsewhere.

Promotion included Newspapers both mainstream and community based, TV and Radio throughout the South Island, a Street Parade through Timaru, Driver signing sessions at the Caroline Bay Carnival. Ticket giveaways on the local radio stations, School visits by drivers.
The District Mayor promoted the event and stressing to anyone who would listen about how important motorsport and the circuit is to the economic well being of the Sth Canterbury community. The Deputy Mayor was taken on hot laps of the circuit all of which was reported by the media.

Kids activities included bouncy castles, a trapeze that adults were too scared to use (kids had no fear and it was busy all weekend) Noddy car rides etc, etc.

Displays included the Hot Rod fraternity at large and even a pipe band was in attendance (many South Islanders are of Scots descent)

In real terms I do not think that much else could have been done to get people through the gateway short of the local police driving through town and arresting anyone found on the streets and transporting them to the circuit.

How one gets Auckland based media companies more concerned about the plastic parts of out society rather than the real thing to follow the sport with similar entheusism as the supporters..............

[flyingduck]

So how was the crowd size then Southern Man

[Southern Man]

Originally Posted by flyingduck

So how was the crowd size then Southern Man

I have not seen the figures yet but there are allways two sets of figures, the one that the media use which includes all corporates, crews and freebees along with the paying public and the one that I prefer to use which is how many actaully paid at the gate to get into the circuit. By the looks of the embankement and car parks on Sunday I would suspect the figures would be around 9800 and 6300 respectively for the Sunday. The newspaper said 10,000.

Truth is that Timaru year in and year out normally has the greatest number of spectators of any circuit in NZ outside of the V8 Supercar meeting. The Teretonga January meeting is normally the other big crowd puller of the season.

Many circuits quote figures made up from totals on the park for every day of the meeting including test days hence figures of 20-25,000 etc that you sometimes hear bandied about

[flyingduck]

So is that good in comparison with past years is the series growing or shrinking off the track currently.

[Southern Man]

Originally Posted by flyingduck

So is that good in comparison with past years is the series growing or shrinking off the track currently.

The crowd numbers at this meeting over the past 20 years or so have remained pretty static on the Sunday, Probably have increased slightly on the Friday & Saturday as a result of the timetable and programing some races onto the Saturday. This year there were less Corporates and Doris's hanging around the pits.

[Geewizz]

Anyone shed some light on the technical disqualification Johnny Mac got after winning race 1??

[flyingduck]

Qualifying in more detail

McIntyre scored his second pole position of the season with a time of 1:02.956, just over four-hundredths of a second quicker than Scott.



In the first 20 minute session, Andy Booth was quickest in the Big Ben Pies Holden, his time of 1:03.202 putting him ahead of Scott, Angus Fogg, Paul Manuell and Tim Edgell as the quickest five.



The second session of 15 minutes featured the top 20 competitors with Scott quickest with 1:02.743, ahead of Fogg, Booth, McIntyre and Manuell.



Race 1 in more detail

Southland’s infamous weather almost dominated the afternoon with a thunderstorm stopping the Toyota Racing Series immediately before the scheduled 12-lap BNT V8 race.



After a 50 minute delay the twilight race finally got underway at 8pm with McIntyre delivering a commanding pole-to-chequered flag performance. However the defending champion was later excluded from the results for a technical infringement when the series scrutineer assessed that the wheel track width on McIntyre’s BP Ultimate Ford was wider than specified in regulations.

“It’s down to measurements of a millimetre or less,” said a disappointed McIntyre. “We believe the track width was affected by a bent rim – we certainly did not make a mistake, but you can’t appeal a technical decision like this. It’s a set-back for sure, but it’s only one race. We’ll go as hard as
can in the last eight races of the season to maximise our points’ haul. It’s not an insurmountable situation.”

With the track still quite wet and rain lurking nearby for the delayed 12-lap race, most competitors elected to run on the treaded Dunlop ‘wet’ tyre.

Immediately after the race, McIntyre said: “Towards the end we were cruising to help hold the tyres together. Being able to set pole position really sets you up for the whole weekend and, after being a bit down after not being able to do as well as we would have liked at Timaru, the whole John McIntyre Racing team really needed a good result like this.”

Crossing the line in second, and later being awarded the race win, Andy Booth said: “We’d gone out on slicks to check the track conditions. There was a bit of confusion whether we were meant to be on wet or slick Dunlops, but it was definitely a track for wets, so we did a swift change and got back to the starting grid. We had some good pace, despite not having time to do a set-up specifically for the wets. It was pleasing to pass Angus [Fogg] in the first part of the race and after Kayne went backwards with his engine issues, we decided to consolidate our placing, get the points and have a good starting place tomorrow.”


McIntyre, Scott, Angus Fogg and Andy Booth led the field cleanly around the first lefthander, but a tangle with another competitor left Michael Bristow stranded in the gravel for the entire race – incredibly frustrating for the talented Tex Onsite Ford driver who was holding a very competitive tenth in the championship standings before this round. Top ten qualifiers Andrew Anderson, Tim Edgell and Paul Pedersen tangled at the elbow, leaving Edgell and Pedersen to battle back through the field and Anderson with a drive-through penalty from officials.



Craig Baird made the most of every opportunity to take the United Video Ford passed others, quickly tucking in behind Booth while McIntyre extended a handy lead until the safety car came out briefly to help John Hepburn out of the gravel.



Scott’s car started to slow significantly when the engine suffered a broken mandrel pulley midway through the race. This allowed Booth, Baird, Fogg and Paul Manuell through, then Baird and Fogg had a good battle through the twisty part of Teretonga’s circuit. Fogg eventually stopped on the eighth lap with a failed alternator and a resultant flat battery, while McIntyre crossed the line first with Booth, Baird, Manuell following him home and Pedersen managing to improve from eleventh to fifth.



Race two in more detail

Fresh from winning a Porsche GT3 race earlier in the morning, United Video Ford driver Craig Baird took victory in the second BNT V8s race of the weekend in what was a very unusual race. Expert BNT V8s series commentator Brian Kelly said it was one of the most bizarre race starts he’s ever seen in this series.



“The changing weather conditions meant just nine teams made it to the starting grid – some, like Baird, had managed to change from their Dunlop D14 dry tyres to the treaded wet tyres before the pit lane exit closed, while some had elected to stay on the drys,” said Kelly. “But the other 13 competitors were still in the pits changing to wets when the exit closed and had to start the race from pit lane. It was just bizarre to have so much of the field start from pit lane!”



One of those electing to make the decision to change to wets was Tim Edgell in the Chesters Ford. “Randell [Edgell, Tim’s father and team manager] made the call to change tyres quite early and even though we missed the pit exit closure, we lined up at the front of that queue, which effectively allowed us to move from 15th on the grid to come out on to the circuit in tenth.”



Baird made the win look easy, cruising to victory with a 14 second gap to second-placed Andy Booth who would have started on pole courtesy of his win in the first race after original race winner McIntyre was excluded from the results if he hadn’t been stuck in pit lane.



“We changed to wets and were caught by the pit closure,” said Booth. “We believe the whole race should have been declared wet so everyone would have been on wets. Having said that, we were very pleased to have started from pit lane and finished as well as we did. This closes the points’ gap up to McIntyre and Scott.”



With Baird on the actual grid were Paul Manuell, Inky Tulloch, Chris Adams, Eddie Bell, Angus Fogg, Dale Williams, Andrew Porter and Mack Peach, with Manuell and Fogg, and possibly others, electing to stay on slicks. On the very wet circuit, Manuell slipped back through the field, allowing Tulloch and Adams through, while Booth, Pedersen and Edgell started their attack. Midway, Baird started lapping the slower competitors as Booth and Pedersen continued to improve their placings. McIntyre also made vast improvements, carving through the field from virtually the back to eventually finish seventh.



As the circuit dried and the slick tyres of Manuell and Fogg had better grip than the now-starting-to-wear wets, this duo started to pick up places at a rate of knots. Manuell also set the fastest lap time, 1:04.852, in the entire race.



Other than Baird’s dominant run at the front, the rest of the field changed places at an unprecedented rate for most of the 16 laps. In second, Booth was followed home by Tulloch, Pedersen and Edgell, with the top ten was completed by Manuell, McIntyre, Adams, Bristow and Fogg. Race three in more detail

The starting grid for the 20-lapper is determined by adding together the points each driver earns in the first two races and reversing the order. However any drivers with demerit points and other infringements also get shuffled around so Timaru’s John Hepburn was on pole with Bombay’s Mack Peach beside him. Fogg was the best placed of the top runners in third with Pukekohe’s Michael Bristow sharing the second row.



Fogg whipped between Hepburn and Peach to snatch the lead immediately past the start line, then on the sweeper Peach went off, requiring the safety car to come out. After safety crews were unable to retrieve Peach’s car after three laps behind the safety car, the race was halted until the circuit was clear. As the field resumed racing, Fogg led from Hepburn, Simon Richards, Andrew Anderson and Bristow.



Series front runners Scott, McIntyre, Booth and Baird swiftly worked up through the field with Manuell hot on their heels. Anderson didn’t take long to make it into second place, a position he held behind the very determined Fogg for 13 of the 20 laps. Andy Knight copped a drive-through penalty for contact with Andrew Porter. A similar penalty imposed on the fast-improving Tim Edgell for contact with Richards was later revoked and Edgell’s ninth place instated.



McIntyre’s chase through the field earned him second place and he whittled Fogg’s lead down to just over one second. With another lap, perhaps McIntyre would have caught Fogg, but Foggy hadn’t earned the honour of the race’s fastest lap – 1:03.314 – by mucking around.



“It makes it easier to win these reverse grid races when you’re starting near the front, although being near the front of the reverse grid isn’t really a good thing,” said Fogg who drops from fifth overall to sixth. “Still we’ll take the win and the points after a challenging weekend.”



At the chequered flag, Fogg and McIntyre were followed home by Anderson for his best finish of the season. Scott was fourth, Bristow fifth with the top ten rounded out by Nick Ross, John Penny, Manuell, Booth and Adam Brook.

BNT V8s Championship – Provisional Overall Points

After five of seven rounds

Position, Driver, Hometown, Car, Provisional points

1, Kayne Scott, Hamilton, Ford Falcon, 829

2, John McIntyre, Nelson, Ford Falcon, 797

3, Andy Booth, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 706

4, Craig Baird, Gold Coast, Ford Falcon, 691

5, Paul Manuell, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 581

6, Angus Fogg, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 570

7, Paul Pedersen, Taupo, Ford Falcon, 550

8, Eddie Bell, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 498

9, Andrew Anderson, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 487

10, Michael Bristow, Pukekohe, Ford Falcon, 453

11, Adam Brook, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 444

12, Tim Edgell, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 420

13, John Penny, Taupo, Holden Commodore, 418

[nic.v814]

Why is it Holden struggle in the NZ series ,is it engine power or aero

[V8 Fireworks]

Sorry for the Newbie question, but there doesn't seem to be a VE body style in the class? It might keep costs down but must not assist the sponsorship from Holden and makes the class look out of date.

[nic.v814]

Originally Posted by V8 Fireworks

Sorry for the Newbie question, but there doesn't seem to be a VE body style in the class? It might keep costs down but must not assist the sponsorship from Holden and makes the class look out of date.

I dont think holden has much of an involvement in the class and alot of teams simply couldnt afford it the class is more about good racing than being up to date i think

[NAC]

Originally Posted by nic.v814

I dont think holden has much of an involvement in the class and alot of teams simply couldnt afford it the class is more about good racing than being up to date i think

I believe it is on the cards soon but think it's going to be the shell only sitting on the old chassis. I think they were waiting for the FG so both brands got the face lift

[nic.v814]

Dont they usually use ex v8 supercar shells? It will be difficult to get a FG shell for awhile i would imagine as they would all go to the Development series

[PhaseIII]

No they don't use SuperCar chassis/shells.
I believe that they're much more 'production' based (similar to V8Utes).

[nic.v814]

oh ok then my bad

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by nic.v814

Dont they usually use ex v8 supercar shells? It will be difficult to get a FG shell for awhile i would imagine as they would all go to the Development series

No as I understand it the chassis are ex cop cars or taxis that get stripped and built up from there.

[V8 Fireworks]

It might similar to Commodore Cup in specification, but with it being NZ's 'number one' tin-top class then the build of the cars, for the front runners anyway, wouldn't haveCommodore cup style of penny pinching surely?

FG ex-taxis wouldn't be in abundant supply for the next season?

[nic.v814]

Originally Posted by V8 Fireworks

It might similar to Commodore Cup in specification, but with it being NZ's 'number one' tin-top class then the build of the cars, for the front runners anyway, wouldn't haveCommodore cup style of penny pinching surely?

FG ex-taxis wouldn't be in abundant supply for the next season?

With the way taxi drivers drive in auckland im sure it wont be to hard to find a damaged one

[Dasher]

Originally Posted by V8 Fireworks

It might similar to Commodore Cup in specification, but with it being NZ's 'number one' tin-top class then the build of the cars, for the front runners anyway, wouldn't have Commodore cup style of penny pinching surely?

V8 Fireworks

Please Explain what you mean by "Commodore cup style of penny pinching" ?

[flyingduck]

But in these tough economic times is it the best to be a little penny pinching, it is the best to keep cars on the grid in my opinion.

[NAC]

Originally Posted by flyingduck

But in these tough economic times is it the best to be a little penny pinching, it is the best to keep cars on the grid in my opinion.

Couldnt agree more

[Dasher]

Originally Posted by NAC

Couldnt agree more

All that's fine, just want to know what is meant by "Commodore cup style of penny pinching" ?

[V8 Fireworks]

In the sense that used shells are used instead of new ones from the factory.

In Commodore Cup, they are older model Commodores so that makes a lot of sense.

But NZV8s are running a more recent model, so why not soure a brand new shell in tip-top condition from Ford or Holden parts catalouge, at least for the leading teams .

[flyingduck]

Originally Posted by V8 Fireworks

In the sense that used shells are used instead of new ones from the factory.

In Commodore Cup, they are older model Commodores so that makes a lot of sense.

But NZV8s are running a more recent model, so why not soure a brand new shell in tip-top condition from Ford or Holden parts catalouge, at least for the leading teams .

But that would give the leading teams an advantage and the great thing about the NZV8's is we see other drivers from the non big teams doing well at races. In the Aussie V8's apart from when it rains it is rare to see a non top 4 or 5 team running in the top 5 at a round.

[GTRMagic]

Is Johnny Mac leaving the series??

[BlueBlood]

I seem to recall JMac had an eye on the porsche series, and may have tried to sell up prior to this season.

The package is advertised over here also, no announcement on his plans as far as I have heard.