Toyota Racing Series » 2007 Season

2007 TOYOTA RACING SERIES: 2007 FINAL PRIZELIST.

admin — Mon, 28 May 2007 04:24:48 +0000

The 2007 Toyota Racing Series concluded at Pukekohe Park raceway last weekend and has been recorded as another outstanding success. Having just completed its third season since inception, the Series again attracted strong entries with a total of 31 drivers facing the starting lights during the season. Once again, nine international visitors representing Great Britain, Italy, USA, Bahrain and Australia created considerable interest and gave Kiwi drivers a good comparison of their skills.

With a total prize pool in excess of $100,000 and New Zealand’s most prestigious Trophies there was again plenty to race for! The prizes for 2007 are listed as follows:

1st Overall: Daniel Gaunt (Auckland) – Chris Amon Trophy, Butcher Trophy, Gold Star, $10,000

The Chris Amon Scholarship: Daniel Gaunt (Auckland). A fund of $30000 is awarded to the highest placed New Zealand resident driver and is to be used to further the winner’s international single seater career.

2nd Overall: Shane van Gisbergen (Manukau City) – $8,000.

3rd Overall: Ben Harford (Wellington) – $7,000.

4th Overall: Andy Knight (Christchurch) – $6,000.

5th Overall: Christina Orr (Whakatane) – $5,000.

Teams Champion: International Motorsport (Auckland) – $5,000.

Premier Events Rookie of the Year: Shane van Gisbergen (Manukau City) – $5,000 plus $5,000 towards travel.

International Trophy: Shane van Gisbergen (Manukau City) – $5,000.

Milwaukee Nothing but Heavy Duty Technician of the Year: Peter Cox (Christchurch) – V28 Power Pack valued at $2249.

Karcher Clean Car of the Year Award: Ben Crighton (Auckland) – Vacuum and Blaster to the value of $700.

Yamaha Reliability Award: Earl Bamber – Yamaha Bee Wee Scooter (all full season competitors eligible for the prize draw).

New Zealand Motor Cup: Shane van Gisbergen (Manukau City).

NZ Grand Prix Trophy: Daniel Gaunt (Auckland).

Lady Wigram Trophy: Daniel Gaunt (Auckland).

Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy: Ben Clucas (Great Britain).

Dan Higgins Trophy: Daniel Gaunt (Auckland) – $5,000 prize pool for the podium place getters.

Spirit of Southland Trophy: Daniel Gaunt (Auckland).

Timaru Herald Trophy: Daniel gaunt (Auckland).

Eclipse Radio Awards:

Daniel Gaunt – $2600
Shane Van Gisbergen – $1600
Andy Knight – $1000
Ben Harford – $900
Hamad Al Fardan – $700
Ben Clucas – $500
Matthew Hamilton – $300
Nelson Hartley – $200
Earl Bamber – $200

Kevin Lancaster

HH Media

Electronic problems thwart Van der Drift

admin — Tue, 22 May 2007 04:08:42 +0000

Kiwi-born Chris van der Drift (21) had hoped the opening race of the new International Formula Master at the Valencia (Spain) circuit, would give him the long-awaited opportunity to show his talent at driving racing cars.
However, this was not to be as Van der Drift experienced mystifying electronic problems from the time he first went out onto the track in the new race car. The problems persisted throughout the official two-day test session, into the official weekend’s test sessions on Friday, and resulted in a DNF in the first race held on the Saturday after completing just seven laps of the 19-lap race.
Nevertheless, while the car was going, Van der Drift made a huge impression, making up 11 places in the opening laps of race 1 and then making up 20 places in race 2, to finish in tenth.
This performance was all the more remarkable, in view of the few laps Van der Drift had driven with the car performing properly and thus little time to fine-tune the handling and set-up of the car.
With the intermittent electronic problem, Van der Drift was still able to turn in the ninth and seventh fastest lap times in the test sessions, but then the electronic problem became worse in official qualifying where he was in 23rd place.
In the first ever International Formula Master race, Van Der Drift quickly passed 11 cars and then another one to be in 11th position when the electrical gremlin intervened on Lap 7 and cut his engine power. Van der Drift now goes into the history books as the first driver to record a DNF!
The DNF meant Van der Drift had to start the second race from last (31st) place, and what a start! In the first lap he passed 20 cars to reach 11th place. Then it was up to 9th by lap 8. However, the lack of time to find the best set-up meant he began to suffer from tyre pressure/handling issues and dropped back to finish tenth – but there were no signs of the electronic problem after his hard-worked JD Motorsport crew had changed virtually everything on the car.
Frustrating – especially when Van der Drift’s team-mate, Kasper Anderson, won the second race.
“I experienced major electronic problems that destroyed any chances of scoring any points. I was able to make up a lot of positions in race 1 until my car stopped – if I had finished that race, my whole weekend’s results could have been very different. The driver behind me at the time I stopped went on to finish sixth. I had nothing to lose in race 2 so pushed like crazy and with no big problems with the car, I could easily pass heaps of cars. I could hardly believe I was in tenth place after just one lap!
“I just hope all my problems are now finished as I am looking forward to the next race at Pau, France, which is a street race – in two weeks time. It will be very important to me.
“Special thanks to my JD Motorsports team, and especially my mechanic, Alberto and my engineer, Roberto, who put in such a huge effort to fix my problem,” said Van der Drift.

Points : Kasper Anderson 14, Jerome D’Ambrosio 11, Oliver Campos 11, Salvatore Gatto 10, Johnny Cecotto Jr 10.

Next round : Pau, France June 2-3.

Chris van der Drift is proudly supported by Racing Pool, Valvoline, National Meats, BMW Ekris, Momo.

Van der Drift back racing

admin — Fri, 18 May 2007 04:07:15 +0000

Kiwi racing driver, Chris van der Drift (now 21) gets his motor racing career back in action this weekend, competing in the first round of the new International Formula Master S2000 championship at the Valencia circuit in Spain, the race being run in conjunction with the FIA World Touring Car Championship.
There are eight rounds in the championship, with two races at each round. 33 drivers have registered to contest the championship, in 14 teams.
There have been a number of official test days to shake down the new cars, and apart from a few teething troubles, all the drivers have been very impressed with the totally new cars.
Van der Drift is again driving for Italy-based JD Motorsport, in a team of three cars.
Van der Drift spent the summer months back in New Zealand – where he was born – and assisted Earl Bamber with his Toyota Racing Series car, as well as competing in the CIK Karcher kart meeting at Hamilton.
He had to return to Europe at short notice for some sponsorship duties, and stayed on with his parents in Holland, then worked as a mechanic for three kart races in Italy. Then it was time to get in to some serious training for six weeks with Formula Medicine to get fit for the racing season.
“The cars look very aerodynamic and professional, and have awesome grip and feel very neutral, so I am looking forward to driving them in racing conditions, after only a couple of brief test sessions” says van der Drift.
For those who wish to follow Chris’s racing directly, he has set up his own website : www.chrisvddrift.com.
Chris’s racing campaign this year is supported by : National Meats Ltd, Racing Pool, Valvoline, BMW Ekris and Momo.

Formula S2000 Master – calendar :
May 20 – Valencia, Spain
June 3 – Pau, France
June 17 – Brno, Czech Republic
July 8 – Porto, Portugal
July 29 – Anderstorp, Sweden
August 26 – Oschersleben, Germany
September 23 – Brands Hatch, England
October 7 – Monza, Italy

Attached is a free-to-use diagram of Chris van der Drift’s International Formula Master S2000 car.

Grand Prix to be Raced at Manfeild

admin — Wed, 09 May 2007 04:04:49 +0000

New Zealand’s premier single seater motorsport trophy, the Grand Prix, is to be raced at Manfeild Motorsport Park in the Manawatu in 2008, MotorSport New Zealand president, Steven Kennedy, announced today. It will be the 51st running of the event.

“Four of the country’s six circuits applied to host the event with comprehensive, quality presentations. Following detailed submissions and discussions with the Manfeild Park management, we have agreed a three year contract and the first event will be held next year on 14 January,” he said.

“The Grand Prix will be contested by the Toyota Racing Series as part of their international series and they will be the feature championship class on the programme at that meeting. Other support classes have yet to be confirmed.

“It is anticipated TRS will also contest the Lady Wigram Trophy at Ruapuna, Christchurch the weekend before with the final round of their international series the following weekend at Taupo.”

Manfeild Park Trust chief executive, Phil Abraham, said he was delighted with the decision.

“We plan to make the whole weekend a celebration of motorsport and are determined to make the Grand Prix the pre-eminent event on the calendar. It will also allow us to showcase the redeveloping Manfeild Park.

“We expect work to start shortly on the new control tower structure to have it and track resealing and remedial work completed in time for the summer. We will also have completed a new 7,000 sq metre stadium available for indoor displays and activities.”

The New Zealand Grand Prix is one of only two Grand Prix events sanctioned by the FIA outside Formula One. It dates back to 1950 when the first event was run at Ohakea Air Base. The second running of the event was 1954 at Ardmore Aerodrome where it ran until 1962.

In 1963 the Grand Prix moved to Pukekohe Circuit where it ran annually for 29 years with the exception of 1974 when it ran at Wigram Airfield in Christchurch. Manfeild circuit last hosted the event between1992-95. The following two years were at Ruapuna Park in Christchurch, one year at Pukekohe in 2001 and since 2002, it has been raced at Teretonga, Invercargill.

Of the 50 events, 27 winners have been based overseas with the balance New Zealanders.

An almost perfect season

admin — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 03:50:03 +0000

The 2006/7 Toyota Racing Series was an almost perfect season for winner, Daniel Gaunt.
Following his calculated win the in the previous season’s Toyota Racing Series, in which he drove as fast as required to win the championship, rather than risk points by going all out on the major trophy events, this year the 23-year old Aucklander showed in the 2006/7 series that he could win major events and retain his championship title.
Gaunt not only won the TRS with one round to go, but he also won the New Zealand Grand Prix, the Lady Wigram Trophy and the Dan Higgins Memorial. There was only one other major trophy that he really wanted to win and that was the prestigious Butcher NZ Motor Cup at the final round of the series at Pukekohe. Unfortunately a persistent and untraceable imbalance problem with his car meant that Gaunt could not drive to his car’s full potential and had to give best to his young International Motorsport team-mate, 17-year old Shane Van Gisbergen, and Andy Knight, finishing third in the race.
“Normally I don’t have problems at Pukekohe and have been unbeaten there, but there was something not right with my car at this final meeting. My hard working crew tried everything to find it, but this time they couldn’t and I simply could not get the best out of the car. However, the best thing was that my Giltrap City Toyota team-mate, Shane Van Gisbergen, didn’t have any such problems and drove very well to take the win, which meant that our team won all the major trophies and finished first and second in the Toyota Racing Series – an almost perfect performance,” said Gaunt.
Gaunt is full of thanks and praise for his team, his own mechanics, and the backing he has received from the Giltrap Group.
“I have been very fortunate to have the backing of Colin Giltrap and his sons, Richard and Michael, which – as a bonus – gave me the opportunity to assist New Zealand’s A1GP team in the build-up to the Shanghai round. That experience, to drive that powerful car and work with such a professional team, was invaluable in my development and career.
“Then there has been my team run under the capable direction of Lyall Williamson of International Motorsport, and especially my two very experienced engineers, Peter Cox and Stephen Giles, who have given me a superbly prepared car at every round.
“The chance to drive a modern “wings and slicks” car in a New Zealand series, has also been invaluable for helping to develop my driving skills and career, so it is important I thank Toyota New Zealand for establishing this series, which has helped me to obtain drives in America which is where I want to further my career,” says Gaunt.
With the Toyota Series now over, Gaunt is negotiating very hard to obtain a drive in America with a well-known proven team.
“That is where I want to be, but the cost of obtaining a drive with a top team is very high. With the help of several people, I am negotiating to obtain a drive, but obtaining the necessary funding is extremely difficult.
“Whatever happens, I will be racing back in New Zealand next season – but it may not be in a Toyota. I am keen to broaden my experience and drive a car in the Battery Town Porsche GT3 Cup series, with the possibility of driving one of the new Porsche 997 cars,” says Gaunt, 2006/7 Toyota Racing Series champion.

MARK RUSS – 3RD PLACED ROOKIE IN THE TOYOTA RACING SERIES

admin — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 03:48:00 +0000

Young motor racing star, Mark Russ (Auckland), has completed his first full Toyota Racing Series campaign with two top ten placings in the Series finale at Pukekohe Park Raceway last weekend. Russ started his weekend well by qualifying in 8th place on the starting grid which was his best qualifying effort for some time.

The first race, held on Saturday afternoon, saw the eager rookie driver contest a solid race to cross the finish line in 6th place but was advised he had incurred a time penalty for false start and was relegated to 9th. What did happen was the cars were held on the grid for longer than usual. Mark’s clutch heated up and he started rolling forward. However, battling with several cars throughout the race and gaining two places was a positive result which will not have gone unnoticed.

Sunday morning’s second race was an even better effort as Mark started from 10th place on the grid based on the extremely close lap times from Race 1. This time, however, he made a perfect start to gain two places on the opening lap then battle his way past two more cars to be awarded 6th place at the end of the 16 laps.

The Series finale was a pleasing result for the 20 year old Aucklander who finished the weekend 6th overall on total points for the round. He eventually rounded off his debut season in 13th place for the overall Championship and 3rd place in the Rookie standings. The season has proved to be a tough learning curve but the experience gained has been invaluable, especially now having knowledge of all circuits used in the Series:

“This weekend has been solid for us after a reasonable qualifying and Race 1 went well apart from the adjudged jumped start. We still struggled a little bit with set up as the car was a bit twitchy on the fast corners. Race 2 was good as we had to fight to get past four cars so it was more experience gained” he reflected after the second race.

He went on to explain his thoughts about the immediate future:

“There were some solid performances during the season even though we struggled in the early rounds until allocated a new engine. I would like to come back and have another shot at it next season as I’ve learned so much and know I can do well next year with the knowledge gained. We have been offered drives in other categories. So, we have to sit down and see where our budget is then make some decisions but I will be really happy about doing it all again” he said.

Whatever the outcome of negotiations over the winter months, there is no question that enthusiasm will never be lacking with Mark Russ and his motor racing career. He showed he has the willingness to learn and totally apply himself to the tasks set before him and with the right backing and good technical support could very well be a major star of the 2008 Toyota Racing Series.

Alan Henderson
HH Media

VAN GISBERGEN GIVES TOP TOYOTA TEAM A SEASON-WINNING END AT PUKEKOHE

admin — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 03:46:56 +0000

New Zealand’s brightest young motor racing talent, Shane Van Gisbergen, gave the International Motorsport team a winning end to their Toyota Racing Seriaes season with an emphatic win in the final race of the 2006/07 championship at the Placemakers V8 Supercar meeting at Pukekohe’s Pukekohe Park Raceway today.

The precociously talented Van Gisbergen was the dominant force in the Toyota Racing Series class at the three-day meeting, setting the fastest lap time in qualifying, the fastest race lap in the first race then putting a sensational move on early leader Andy Knight to win the second race and with it the coveted New Zealand Motor Cup.

The only flaw in an otherwise perfect weekend was in the first race when, while lying second, the 17-year-old from Auckland’s Manukau City was forced to pit when a piece of his car’s bodywork started rubbing on a rear tyre.

With the overall series title already in teammate Daniel Gaunt’s hands after the penultimate round of the 2006/07 season in March, the interest in this weekend’s series finale at Pukekohe was in the battle between Van Gisbergen and Wellington driver Ben Harford for second place in the championship.

Van Gisbergen got the better start to the weekend with pole position, but Harford was able to close the gap when he finished third behind Knight and Gaunt in race one, Van Gisbergen able to rejoin the race but finish in 14th position.

The young International Motorsport driver remained in front heading into this morning’s 16 lap race but had to finish to ensure that his team retained first and second place in the overall points standings.

An on-form Andy Knight was again quicker off the line but any thoughts that Van Gisbergen might play a percentages game were blown out the window at the end of Pukekohe’s long back straight when the 17-year-old series rookie pulled off one of the season’s best moves with a dramatic round the outside pass for the lead as he and Knight braked for the hairpin.

Knight yielded and Van Gisbergen pulled away to win by just over half a second with Gaunt third and Wanganui’s Earl Bamber fourth.

Harford had been running strongly in fourth but was a late withdrawal with a problem similar to the one Van Gisbergen experienced in the first race.

The win was the second for Van Gisbergen and with two-time championship winner Daniel Gaunt’s nine, the eleventh for International Motorsport’s A1 Team.NZL Junior Development Team in this season’s Toyota Racing Series.

Points-wise Gaunt ended up amassing 1448 points, 328 more than teammate Van Gisbergen in second and 423 more than third placed Ben Harford.

Between them Gaunt and Van Gisbergen also won five of the eight rounds outright and all the major trophies.

Gaunt won the Lady Wigram Trophy at Christchurch’s Powerbuilt Tools International Raceway at Ruapuna Park in January, the Dan Higgins Memorial Trophy at Feilding in February and the New Zealand Grand Prix trophy at Invercargill’s Teretonga Park, while Van Gisbergen has now won what is arguably the most prestigious one of all, the New Zealand Motor Cup, a trophy which has a history going back to the very first beach race at Muriwai west of Auckland in 1921.

As a steady stream of well-wishers came up to offer their congratulations after the race Van Gisbergen was remarkably matter-of-fact about his winning move, saying;

“Andy was quite cautious through Castrol and onto the back straight so I was able to take advantage of that and get around him before the corner. Everything was cold, the brakes, the tyres, the track, but I knew I was going to have to do it on the first lap.”

Van Gisbergen has hardly been out of the limelight since starting his motor racing career three season’s ago, winning the Rookie of The Year award in the Formula First class in 2005, the New Zealand Formula Ford championship outright in 2006 and now finished second overall in his rookie year in the Toyota Racing Series.

Nothing seems to faze the modest, easy-going teenager who got his competition start in Quarter Midgets and ATV Motocross, and he says that driving for the International Motorsport team in the Toyota Racing Series has been everything he expected – and more!

“I always knew the Toyota Racing Series was going to be a lot tougher than Formula Ford and it took a while to learn the cars but every meeting I think I got better and better and now I’m at the front of the field which hopefully will be good for me for next season.”

Having been the the man to beat everywhere else, and having made such a good job of winning the 2006/07 Toyota Racing Series title, Daniel Gaunt was quick to offer his congratulations to his young teammate having himself again had chassis balance issues in the race.

“The race was a little bit of a struggle,” to be honest,” said Gaunt. “We just didn’t have the outright speed. We thought we had found the problem last night (in the first race Gaunt struggled with what he thought was a damper issue) but it still wasn’t quite there.”

“Full credit and a job well done to Shane for finishing second in the championship and winning the NZ Motor Cup. As a team we’ve got a lot to be happy about today.”

Ends

Knight yielded and Van Gisbergen pulled away to win by just over half a second with Gaunt third and Wanganui’s Earl Bamber fourth.

Harford had been running strongly in fourth but was a late withdrawal with a problem similar to the one Van Gisbergen experienced in the first race.

Points-wise Gaunt ended up amassing 1448 points, 328 more than teammate Van Gisbergen in second and 423 more than third placed Ben Harford.

Between them Gaunt and Van Gisbergen also won five of the eight rounds outright and all the major trophies.

As a steady stream of well-wishers came up to offer their congratulations after the race Van Gisbergen was remarkably matter-of-fact about his winning move, saying;

“Full credit and a job well done to Shane for finishing second in the championship and winning the NZ Motor Cup. As a team we’ve got a lot to be happy about today.”

BRENDON HARTLEY WINS DOUBLE-HEADER IN BELGIUM

admin — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 03:42:19 +0000

Red Bull development driver, Palmerston North teenager Brendon Hartley, has dominated the opening races of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 litre season this weekend by winning both feature races at the Zolder circuit in Belgium.

After winning the first race on Saturday by a comfortable four-second margin he went on to win Sunday’s race from pole position.

The New Zealander, who drives for the Red Bull Epsilon team, said after a “difficult” 2006 first season, his weekend in Belgium couldn’t have gone better.

Hartley is contesting both the Italian Formula Renault Series and the Eurocup Series. The race at Zolder this weekend was the start of his Eurocup campaign.

“We were fastest all weekend in all conditions so this has been the perfect start for me.

“Things are going as well as they possibly could with the Red Bull Epsilon team and I haven’t had a single problem with the car since I’ve been with them”.

The next round of the World Series by Renault is at the famous Nurburgring circuit near the Eiffel Mountains in Germany on 5th May. Hartley starts that weekend with a maximum of 33 points in the championship.
ends

For interview opportunities or further information please contact:

Peter (PJ) Johnston
Phone: + 64 9 525 5885
Fax: + 64 9 525 5988
Mobile: + 64 (0) 21 950 250

SHANE VAN GISBERGEN WINS NZ MOTOR CUP WHILE ANDY KNIGHT WINS THE ROUND

admin — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 03:38:31 +0000

Manukau City’s Shane Van Gisbergen has driven brilliantly to win the final race of the 2007 Toyota Racing Series and with it the historic New Zealand Motor Cup. The 17 year old St Kentigen’s College student drove one of the most calculated races ever in the Toyota formula which included an outstanding overtaking maneuver on eventual race runner up Andy Knight (Christchurch).

However, although beaten in the final series race by the young rookie, nothing can be taken away from Knight as he produced a strong weekend to guide his Karcher liveried car to the overall round win with a 1st and 2nd placing. 3rd in today’s race went to Series Champion Daniel Gaunt (Auckland) while Earl Bamber (Wanganui) had another strong showing to take 4th ahead of Matthew Hamilton (Christchurch) and Mark Russ (Auckland). Christina Orr (Whakatane), Nelson Hartley (Palmerston North), Ken Smith (Manukau City) and Daynom Templeman (Auckland) completed the top ten place getters.

Knight made a superb start from his front row grid position to outgun pole sitter Van Gisbergen into the first turn but a brave and beautifully calculated maneuver saw the rookie reclaim the lead as he outbraked Knight into the Hairpin to establish a lead he was not to relinquish. Several battles ensued throughout the field including Christina Orr and Nelson Hartley while Daynom Templeman fought off several challenges from Aussie driver Tim Slade.

Championship front runner Ben Harford (Wellington) suffered a major disappointment when the rear left air deflector worked loose while lying a comfortable 4th. As a result his rear tyre was severely damaged thus ending his race although his 3rd outright placing in the Championship remained intact. Ben Crighton (Auckland) found his car refused to start for the warm up lap and therefore ended his tough season on a highly disappointing note.

Van Gisbergen was delighted to win the New Zealand Motor Cup and explained his classic overtaking move on Knight:

“Andy is good off the starts and got me off the line but I managed to get a good run on him as we headed onto the back straight. I think he was taking it a bit easy on cold tyres so I just put my foot down and went for it. I went into the hairpin deep on braking but just locked up the front tyres and had to go down a gear to get round. Its hard taking a tight line like that but I did it so it felt really awesome to pull off the move” he declared after the podium ceremony.

So it was Andy Knight taking out the round win ahead of Daniel Gaunt with Earl Bamber completing the podium positions. Gaunt had already won the Championship before the final round but Van Gisbergen maintained his place ahead of Ben Harford in 3rd. The remaining top six Championship positions were filled by Andy Knight, Christina Orr and Daynom Templeman.

Final Championship Points:

Daniel Gaunt (1448); Shane Van Gisbergen (1120); Ben Harford (1025); Andy Knight (1015); Christina Orr (750); Daynom Templeman (717); Earl Bamber (600); Nelson Hartley (566); Ben Clucas (554); Nic Jordan (541).

Kevin Lancaster
HH Media

ANDY KNIGHT DOMINATES RACE 1 AT FROM START TO FINISH AT PUKEKOHE

admin — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 03:37:34 +0000

Christchurch racing driver Andy Knight has dominated Race 1 of the final round of the Toyota Racing Series by leading from start to finish. Knight streaked a way from his front row grid position to control the race after fending off early challenges from pole position qualifier, Shane Van Gisbergen (Manukau City) who suffered the cruelest of luck to leave Knight a comfortable winning margin over the final laps of the 12 lap race.

Van Gisbergen was the hard luck story of the race after he lead away from his third pole position this season but was overhauled by a daring outside overtaking maneuver by Knight on the first corner. The race leader was shadowed by the hard charging rookie but after closing the gap to within striking distance, a rear air deflector on Van Gisbergen’s car began rubbing on the rear right tyre which necessitated a pit stop and ruled him out of a top 3 placing.

Van Gisbergen’s demise was the Aucklander Daniel Gaunt’s gain as he secured a safe 2nd place ahead of Ben Harford (Wellington) who made a couple of stunning overtaking moves on the opening lap. Wanganui’s Earl Bamber drove a sensible but lonely race for 4th while Daynom Templeman (Auckland) came home 5th ahead of Mark Russ (Auckland) 6th. Christina Orr (Whakatane), Nelson Hartley (Palmerston North), Tim Slade (Melbourne) and Andrew Higgins (Auckland) rounded out the top ten.

Drivers to encounter problems included Ben Crighton with gearbox problems and 2005 Series Champion Brent Collins who slipped off the track at Turn 4, glancing off the outside wall causing minor suspension damage. Matthew Hamilton was engaged in a frantic duel with Mark Russ for 6th place but eventually backed off to set a faster lap time to assist his Race 2 grid position.

A jubilant Knight was philosophical about his dominant win:

“Whoever came out of that first lap leading was going to be in control. It was important to make Shane try to pass around the outside of the hairpin and from there on there is nothing he could do to get past. I was driving quite hard but when in the lead I never go at full pace but just try and control the race” he explained after his victory.

Australian visitor Tim Slade was impressed with the circuit and the Toyota Racing Series formula:

“The track is a bit bumpy but really fast and I didn’t get a great start so lost a position off the line. I then dropped back to get a better lap time to improve my starting grid position for tomorrow. I think I could get competitive if running regularly in these cars but it is difficult to get into the groove straight off” he declared.

The starting grid for Race 2 of the weekend is formed according to fastest lap times for Race 1 so we will again see Shane Van Gisbergen on pole position with Andy Knight alongside. They will be followed by Daniel Gaunt, Ben Harford, Earl Bamber and Matthew Hamilton.

Race 2 of the weekend will be run over 16 laps and will take place at 9:10 am tomorrow (Sunday) morning with the prestigious New Zealand Motor Cup at stake for drivers.

Kevin Lancaster
HH Media