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P O Box 27063, Mt Roskill, Auckland, New Zealand 1440 Phone: (09) 620-9797 Facsimile: (09) 620-5247
MAY 2014
Auckland Car Club’s Monthly Magazine, Race, Rally, Clubsport and More…
Web: www.aucklandcarclub.org.nz Facebook: www.facebook.com/race.rally.clubsport Note: All calls to the above numbers are to be BEFORE 9:00pm
The Club thanks the following for their
support:
Club News Advertizing Rates Single Issue 12 Issues Paid
Monthly 12 Issues Paid in Advance
Quarter Page $50.00 $37.50 $371.25 Half Page $100.00 $75.00 $742.50
Full Page $200.00 $150.00 $1,485.00
Rates include display on the club’s website. Contact: Kirsty or Martyn at [email protected]
President
Vice President
Mark Sheehan
579-6611 021-112-9175
Ted Jarvis 021-635-031
Secretary/Treasurer Craig Holmes
486-1970 021-889-488
Membership Secretary
John (Larry) Lawton 846-1746 [email protected]
Clubsport [email protected]
Race [email protected]
Club Captain Ross Henderson
815-5089 021-487-205
Chief Scrutineer Mark Sheehan
579-6611 021-112-9175
Club Rooms Hire Steve Morris
835-9515 021-278-9373
Club News Kirsty or Martyn
021-0252-8531 [email protected]
Committee Members
Mike Dias 416-6765 027-483-5550
Aaron Clarke
835-4794 021-485-272
Brett Davy 834-9300 021-250-1505
Steve Melhuish
477-2156 021-635-439
melhuish.steve@briggsand stratton.co.nz
MotorSport New Zealand Licence Examiners
Brett Davy 834-9300 021-250-1505
Aaron Clarke
835-4794 021-485-272
Peter Borman
837-0488 021-442-700
AUCKLAND CAR CLUB CONTACT LIST
Clubrooms
44 Stoddard Road, Mt Roskill, Auckland Licensed Bar, Lounge, Large Screen TV
Regular Club Night The club rooms are open every Thursday night from 7:30pm until 10:30pm. License examiners are usually available to assist new Members with license exams. Several members of the Executive Committee are usually available to discuss any issues or provide assistance. Club Rooms Hire Rates The Members’ Lounge and the larger hall upstairs are available for hire for special events such as birthday or anniversary parties, meetings, bingo/housie, quiz nights, training courses, etc. The Members’ Lounge has a fully equipped bar and the upstairs hall has a complete kitchen available for both venues. Special hire rates are available for Club Members. Commercial organisations and community groups receive discounts for multiple events or long-term commitments.
Please direct enquiries to Steve Morris [email protected]
2014 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Due to a conflict with the Motorsport New Zealand Annual General Council Meeting, the
Club’s Annual General Meeting date has been changed to:
Thursday 19 June 8:00pm 44 Stoddard Road, Mt Roskill
The following nominations have been received:
President Ted Jarvis
Vice President Steve Melhuish
Club Captain Aaron Clarke
Secretary/Treasurer Craig Holmes
Committee Member Natalie Waite
Committee Member Brett Davy
Committee Member Martyn Wells
Committee Member Kirsty Tiller
Committee Member Ross Henderson
Note the Prize giving has also been rescheduled and will be held immediately after the
Annual General Meeting.
AUCKLAND CAR CLUB CLUB INFORMATION
Club Logo
Online Entry Test Night
We will be holding a test night on the 7th August 2014 at 8pm in the
Clubrooms for our new Online Entry System. This will be to go through
the new format and to pick up any tips that could be useful to know.
Just by turning up you will go into a draw to win a Spot Prize! See you
there
We are currently looking to upgrade our Club Logo and we would like you all
to have a hand in the choice that’s made.
We will be running a design competition which everybody is free to enter.
These can be hand drawn or with using CAD.
It must contain ‘Auckland Car Club Inc’ somewhere in the image.
The winner will receive a gift worth up to $300 courtesy of Briggs & Stratton.
Please send your designs to us at [email protected] by
Sunday 15th June. The winner will be announced at the AGM on June 19th.
AUCKLAND CAR CLUB General
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AUCKLAND CAR CLUB OTHER CLUB NEWS
The Nosey Neighbour Mark ‘Jandals’ Sheehan
How many years have you been an Auckland Car Club Member?
Since the early 70’s
Do you have any nicknames?
Jandals
What was your first road car?
Mini MkI
What hobbies do you have outside of Motorsport?
None
What’s your biggest achievement?
My Holden Torana L34, bought in 1974 came third in the Bathurst 1000. Also working for Dave McMillan
and winning the North American Formula Atlantic Championship.
What’s your biggest disappointment?
Don’t really have any
What motivates you?
The people in Motorsport
Who’s your racing hero?
Dick Johnson
What’s your worst habit?
Getting home late, I am usually told off for that!
The Greatest Person you have ever met?
Paul Newman, I was in a bar in the USA having a drink and Paul just sat next to me and stated talking.
Whats your Favourite Movie?
Grand Prix
Favourite Article of Clothing?
Jandals or Shorts
Favourite TV Show?
Heartbeat
Favourite Holiday Destination?
Any Race Track
Blondes or Brunettes?
Don’t make a difference
Favourite Colour?
Blue
Favourite Song?
Anything by the Beach Boys
Favourite Drink?
Beer
Check out Next Month for more Nosey Neighbour!
AUCKLAND CAR CLUB OTHER NEWS
Where is it now?
We are starting a new segment on old cars that we would like to find. If you remember any cars that you would like to find out more on please send us a small write up and any photos you may have so we can ask a wider audience to find any information we can and to help locate such iconic cars. *******************************************************************
Frank Radisich – McLaren M10A What we know: Tasman Series 1971 - Team Cambridge - Car: McLaren M10A - 6 races. 0 wins. 0 podiums. 0 pole positions. 0 fastest race laps. New Zealand Gold Star Championship 1970 – 1971 - Car: McLaren M10A - 1 race. ? Wins 1 podium. ? Pole Positions. ? Fastest Race Laps Does anybody know who has this car now? Does anybody know anything that it raced after these? Can anybody help us find this car?????
If anybody has any information please email us at Clubnews.
Supercars – Pukekohe – April 24-27th I arrived in Auckland from the Gold Coast a week before the meeting to spend some time with my family over Easter. Being a V8 Supercar meeting it was a 5 day event, with set up being on Wednesday. Thursday We had one practice session and unfortunately it was pouring rain. We had good speed and finished about 6th. Didn’t learn much about the changes we had made to the car due to rain. Friday Straight into a dry qualifying with a few new suspension components on the car we had never tested before on a dry track. We struggled for a little bit of balance and qualified 5th. Saturday Race 1 starting 5th I had my work cut out. Managed to get a good start from the inside
making a place up. I managed to stay out of a lot of the drama going on around me to finish a solid 3rd place behind Richard Moore and Murphy. Race 2 saw me starting right behind Murph in P3. Got a good jump on the start and managed to take second by turn one. My car started to come on late in the race and I chased down Murphy for the lead and managed to get onto his back bumper.
AUCKLAND CAR CLUB HEIMGARTNER REPORT
Unfortunately the race got called short due to a crash and I wasn’t able to have a crack for the lead. Sunday Race 3 saw me starting next to Murph on the front row. This however is not as desirable as starting from 3rd as I was on the dirty outside for turn one. Murph’s team mate was on P3 so Murph did the team mate thing and forced me onto the marbles making it impossible to defend second place, leaving the door open for Moore. I had a good fight with Moore but it eventually ended up with him punting me off the track. He got a drive through but I rejoined in 5th and charged on, but on the 6th lap my engine decided to expire on me at the hair pin causing me to DNF and sit out the rest of the weekend. Conclusion
Overall it was a weekend that could have easily been fantastic. It started out great with me regaining my 2nd place in the championship by the end of Saturday. The boys and Dad had put so much work into the car before the meeting that I was devastated that the championship had to end like this. We dropped to a disappointing 5th overall. Our new team is really starting to tick and I have high hopes going forward.
We proved we now had the raw speed which we lacked in previous rounds so we will regroup and rebuild the car over the off season and come back next season bigger, better. The new season’s format starts with the first of the three endurance rounds on 6/7th September. Perth in the Supercar DEV series in two weeks, spending time with my engineer prior to the round to sort out some strategy. Thanks everyone for your support couldn’t have done it without you! Andre Heimgartner Images from andreheimgartner.com
As a motorsport volunteer with The Motorsport Club, I’m lucky enough to see plenty of racing
action each year, and be a part of some awesome events. One of my favourite events,
unsurprisingly, is the V8 Supercars ITM500 at
Pukekohe. As soon as the email for volunteer
applications came out, I threw my name in the hat
without hesitation. My usual trackside role at the
majority of meetings for the year is Fire Rescue,
which I thoroughly enjoy. I have, however, been
given the opportunity to try a few different roles,
and this year’s ITM500 was one of those.
Last year, at the ITM400, I was lucky enough to get
a spot as the apprentice Accident Investigator, working closely with the legend that is Kim
Fisher. I was very grateful for the opportunity to work with him, and learn from years of
experience. Kim was more than willing to share a few tricks of that particular trade with me,
which made the 2013 event one of my most enjoyable meetings yet.
When the 2014 event rolled around, Kim was unable to attend, and the Accident
Investigator’s role fell in my lap. I felt it was quite a responsibility, as I was suddenly
responsible for investigating any incidents that the Event Director (Robbo) deemed necessary,
and was reporting directly to him. Any of you that have been summoned to Robbo’s office
over the years will understand how daunting a prospect that can be. That feeling was
increased when, upon my arrival on Thursday, I was told that not only would I be the sole
investigator for the support categories, but that the Aussies hadn’t brought their own this
year, so I’d be doing the V8 Supercars too!
Once I found my spot in the secretariat office, I grabbed my clipboard and headed out to the
pits. One of the stranger things about the Accident Investigator role, much like Fire Rescue, is
that I found myself hoping I have nothing to do, because if I’m busy, it means someone else
has had a really bad day. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what
happened on Thursday, which given the wet weather was not
entirely surprising. I was called into action when Dean Perkins hit
the outside wall hard at Turn 1 during qualifying. I’m glad I got the
opportunity to meet him, and to find out he was unhurt, I just wish
it was under better circumstances for his Falcon. I must also add,
hats off to you Dean, I don’t think I would have been so calm and
collected under the same circumstances. Thankfully I wasn’t needed for any other incidents
AUCKLAND CAR CLUB MY DAY, MY STORY
on the Thursday, so was able to spend a bit of time in the pits and race control, talking to
some of the people that make these events happen.
Happily, the weather improved for Friday, and all the competitors had a good day, as
evidenced by my visits to everyone being purely social. I particularly enjoyed Friday, because
it gave me the chance to wander around the track, and see so many of our amazing
volunteers doing what they do best to keep the wheels turning. From the flaggies to race
control, from fire rescue to start line, from secretariat to grid marshals and everyone in
between, it was really awesome to see all these parts working together to make the racing
happen. I’m usually focussed on Fire Rescue stuff, so don’t really get the chance to take half a
step back and look at the whole kick ass team!
Saturday rolled around, and all the racing was fantastic again. I found myself conflicted again,
as I was pleased I got to meet Andrew Waite and his very accommodating V8 Supertourer
team, unfortunately as they were repairing his slightly remodelled Ford after a meeting with
the wall outside Turn 9. My thanks to Andrew and his crew for being so helpful. I was also
able to spend a bit of time in the support paddock on Saturday, talking to drivers and teams
without being there to
investigate. It’s brilliant
that all the drivers and
crews are always willing to
take the time to talk to
volunteers, and very eager
to show their
appreciation. Seeing you
guys enjoy what you do,
and talking to you, makes
us enjoy what we do too!
Sunday, the last day of the
event, rolled around all too quickly, and it was all systems go for The Motorsport Club team
given the big V8 Supercars finale. I was lucky enough to have James Smith, another Fire
Rescue refugee tagging along with me as my photographer. As it turned out, I certainly
needed his help given how Sunday turned out for our little department. Just before lunch,
during the NZV8 Touring Cars race, Grant Molloy had an intimate meeting with the inside
track crossing gate which required some very fast and brilliant work by the volunteers
manning the gate and fork hoist to repair it and make it safe again.
During the following GTRNZ race, as James and I were doing the paperwork for that incident,
while we were out of sight of the track, both the race radios lit up with “ALL STATIONS, RED
FLAG, RED FLAG, RED FLAG”, a call no-one ever wants to hear. This was due to Andy Duffin’s
huge hit at Turn 1 in the Nissan Silvia, which was by far the biggest crash of the weekend. We
arrived at the scene to see the car heavily damaged, and the fantastic Fire & Ambulance
crews working hard to get Andy out safely and quickly. Once he was out, the recovery and
track staff carried on the fantastic service and the incident was cleaned up as soon and as
safely as possible. After finding out about Andy’s condition, our investigation turned to the
vehicle. During this part, I was glad to finally be able to meet, and tap into the vast knowledge
of one of the scrutineers,
Graham Hill. I have seen
Graham around at many an
event, but never had the
chance to meet him face to
face. His vast experience was
invaluable, and my thanks go
to you Graham, for your help
and teaching me a fair bit
about race cars in a very short
time. Further thanks have to
go to Brett, Andy’s crew chief
for all his help with the
investigation and keeping us posted on Andy’s condition. I’m very happy to add that Andy is
recovering well, and will no doubt be racing hard again before too long.
Once all the paperwork was done and submitted to Robbo, it was thankfully time to sit down
and watch the V8 Supercars finale. As
event officials, it’s part of the job to be
impartial, however I have to say it was
great to see the Kiwi boys doing so well
on the big stage.
A huge thanks to The Motorsport Club
for giving me the chance to take on a
different challenge, and being able to see
more of the awesome work volunteers
do! Oh, and a final huge thanks to my
wife Taryn, for waiting until 3:00am Monday morning to go into labour with our first baby!
Monthly Column – Jono Lester
The season is finally underway! We’re kicking off with the 101-lap Australian GT enduro at
Phillip Island, with a recent pre-event test giving me a taste of what’s to come.
So what did I think of my first visit to Phillip Island? Well, it’s a shame the Editors won’t allow
expletives because that would be the best
way to sum it up!
It has everything – speed, character,
undulation, and is set amidst a beautiful
backdrop of the ocean. Much like Bathurst,
it really needs to be seen to be believed.
Our test programme ran brilliantly and my
first laps in a race car in over six months
satisfied my craving. We had immediate
pace which improved further as the day
wore on with small tweaks and changes to the balance of the 2011 Porsche GT3 Cup Car we
are campaigning.
As in any endurance race, it’s the package that wins races and we paid particular attention
to bringing Simon into a comfortable rhythm on a circuit that asks a lot of a driver. He ended
the day far exceeding expectation and that only strengthens our chances of a strong result at
the 101.
Immediately after I landed
back in New Zealand it was
down to Manfeild for the
annual Formula First One
Hour Race, held on the
morning of their season
prizegiving ceremony which
took place later in the
evening.
As naming rights sponsors of
the series (with Vortex Racewear) all three generations of the Lester family were present, but
with a little more at stake than a roast meal and couple of beers!
AUCKLAND CAR CLUB JONO LESTER BLOG
Having not turned a wheel for many years, grandad Rob’s 1983 classic Formula Vee was
dragged out of the shed of current owner Dave Scammel, wiped off with a rag and I found
myself lining up against 14 young hotshots for the race.
19-years after Pop’s last New
Zealand title in 1995 (he was
aged 59!) the car wasn’t quite up
to modern competitive
standard, but the race was a
great deal of fun and it was
awesome to return to my roots
in the class where I began my
career as a 13-year old, back in
2003.
In the next issue I’ll provide a full wrap of the Phillip Island 101 event. Be sure to follow my
season as it unfolds on my website, www.jonolester.com and associated social media.
Stay safe out there on the roads team,
Jono Lester
Holder Realistic for Otago Rally
A steady as she goes approach will be the focus for young rally driver David Holder at the International Rally of Otago this weekend, as he aims to gain further experience in what will be only his second event in a four wheel drive (4wd) rally car. The rally doubles as the second rou und of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship powered by VINZ. The opening round, held last month in Whangarei, saw Holder take a shock lead over four time National Champion Richard Mason, before a fuel leak and off-road excursion ended his rally. “We were pretty surprised with our speed at Whangarei to be fair, pleasantly surprised” says Holder. “But Otago is a different rally and, t to be honest, we expect to be off the pace of the front runners.
There’re heaps of fast and technical crests down there, and you have to be fully committed on them to keep up. That takes time in the car and confidence, something we are working to gain more and more of after the switch to 4wd.” Keeping the learning curve steep, the team also faces an unscheduled co-driver change after previous co-driver Malcolm Peden was unable to secure
time off work for Rally of Otago. In the search for a replacement navigator, experienced co-pilot Ben Hawkins put his hand up and will be taking over the duty of guiding Holder through the racing stages.
“I’d tried to talk Ben into jumping in the seat at the start of last season but he has a young family and the timing wasn’t great for him, so I’m absolutely stoked that he’s available now and pleased to announce his smiley face will be in the car for the rest of the season” says Holder. The teams title sponsor, Stadium Cars, is one of the Otago Rally supporters and will also be backing fellow national 4wd competitor Tony Gosling, and Hyundai World Rally Championship driver Hayden Paddon. Competing in the Historic section of the rally in a classic Ford Escort, Paddon has been mentoring and assisting Holder over the past two years and will be looking to be near the head of a field of Historic class drivers that includes 1994 World Champion Didier Auriol. “Having the full Stadium Cars Motorsport team competing in the same event is going to be legend” reckons Holder. “With Hayden at the rally it really li ifts everyone’s game. It’ll be great having him right t there to bounce ideas off. Here’s hoping the whole team can all have a good clean run
while enjoying a few good laughs along the way.” ***************************
Measured Performance from Holder
Last weekend’s
International Rally
of Otago saw
Dave Holder take
his first podium of
the season in the
Brian Green
Property Group
New Zealand Rally
Championship
driven by VINZ
(NZRC). H Holder’s
measured
performance in
the Stadium Cars Mitsubishi saw him finish second in only his second outing in a 4WD rally
car.
After a rather wet ceremonial start Friday night in the Dunedin Octagon, Saturday dawned
perfect conditions for day one’s fast flowing roads surrounding the town of Lawrence.
Steady progress saw Holder finishing consistently throughout the day, which was bang on
game plan for the team who had worked hard to get the car ready following last month’s
Rally of Whangarei.
“The car ran sweet, there certainly weren’t any car issues thanks to Mike and the team’s
efforts” reports Holder. “We stuck
to the script for this event, driving
conservatively in order to bring h
home some silverware for the
sponsors. Really it was a bit sedate,
we left all the farmers fences
intact... I think that’s a first for me at
Rally Otago” jokes Holder
Holder not only had the support of
Ben Hawkins in the co-driver seat,
but also the whole Stadium Cars Motorsport team as they crewed alongside each other at
Lawrence.
“It was great to be able to have a chat with Hayden (Paddon) and Tony (Gosling) in service”
says Holder
Sunday saw another beautiful Otago day dawn with Holder determined to stick to the team
plan. Chris West’s accident and early demise on the first stage of the day shook the team up
a bit, reiterating their need to stay focused on the goal. Stage twelve saw the retirement of
Emma Gilmour with car issues, and Holder’s consistence paid off shunting him into second
overall behind Richard Mason. A battle for third between Matt Jansen and Andrew
Hawkeswood saw Jansen take the final podium step, over a minute behind Holder.
“It was a bit of a restrained day to b be fair, but in saying that we are stoked to walk away
with the car intact and second place under our belt” states Holder. “It’s going to be good to
have not much to do on the car for Canterbury. It will give me time to get out and drum up
some sponsorship so we can complete the championship.”
The third round of the NZRC kicks off in Canterbury June 1st .
Shaun Midgen - Driver
Shaun is 16 years old and a year 12 student at Kings Collage.
We entered a track day with the Alpha Car Club at the Taupo circuit which I drove my Ferrari 355 F1 and
Shaun was the passenger. Shaun was very enthusiastic so I
let him take the car out with an experienced race driver
that was it, Shaun was hooked.
What a great bunch of guys the Alpha club at BOP are, it
was a fantastic day.
When we purchased the car Shaun only had his learners
licence for less than a month and only ever driven an F1
box or an automatic very infrequently, minimal in fact. He
had a 10 minute lesson on how to drive a manual car that morning with the normal antics of a first time
manual driver then went out on the track at Pukekohe. Two up in the car and did a 1.30, which I thought
wasn’t bad.
The first track day at Hampton with the Classic Japanese Club we only had road tyres, it was very slippery
out there on the corners, it was like driving on ice and we managed to melted/destroyed the tyres. The
tyre pressures were 47psi hot after the first run so with the advice of Paul Paviltich we dropped these
down to 26psi hot as it is quite a light car. It ran 8 seconds a lap quicker after that. It now sits on 195/50/15
Dunlop intermediates, what a difference!
We attend the Commodore Car Club meetings when we can which is brilliant, such a welcoming group and
Shaun and I both really look forward to these track days.
We have assistance for safety checks and a little spanner work from our local garage “Remuera Upland
Motors” which is the old Bruce McLaren Garage, the owner and staff are brilliant and cannot recommend
them highly enough!
Chris Atkinson the owner of Remuera Upland Motor’s
has run for many years, 25+ in fact, with Lotus
Cortina’s and now drives a Lotus 20/22
Both Shaun and I would like to do the Targa in about 2
years’ time after we have had more experience with
Auckland Car Club and the Classic Japanese Series.
Shaun and I want to become better drivers with the
car as is, I think we can take off at least 5 seconds a lap
without any more power after that, we will wait and
see.
So any help from experienced drivers would be very much appreciated.
Thanks
Dave and Shaun Midgen
Race fans can indulge passions at CRC Speedshow
Motorsport fans from all categories are sure to find plenty of race-oriented action and
displays at this year’s CRC Speedshow.
Running for the eighth time in 2014, CRC Speedshow is set to be another spectacular celebration of the world’s and New Zealand’s finest, fastest and coolest new and classic cars and motorcycles, race cars and bikes, and customs and hot rods. New Zealand’s biggest, most diverse automotive and motorsport event is even bigger this year, taking over six full exhibition halls of Auckland’s ASB Showgrounds plus all the outside displays and action
during the 19-20 July show. A key feature of this year’s show will be the Kiwi Young Guns display. The 20 rising and established motorsport stars have been selected following public voting via the show’s busy Facebook page and original nominees included former and current Auckland Car Club members such as Shane Van Gisbergen. The hilarious, action-packed Right Karts Celebrity Charity Kart Challenge will be contested by race stars from all disciplines with a separate challenge running each afternoon of the two-day show. Australian NZV8 champ Jason Bargwanna is keen to defend his title, so make sure you see who lines up to take on the challenges of racing a highly-tuned kart on the purpose-built circuit in the Ideal Wheels live action arena. CRC Speedshow director Ross Prevette is looking forward to seeing our own version of ‘university challenge’.
“We’ve invited Auckland, Waikato and Canterbury universities to demonstrate the exciting
single seaters designed, built and raced by their Formula SAE students, so that’s another one to look out for in the Ideal Wheels live action arena,” says Prevette. “Inside, check out the celebratory displays for the 100th anniversary of Italian supercar marque Maserati and 50 years of the Ford Mustang, constructed with the help of the New Zealand Mustang Owners Club and Ford New
Zealand. “And you might like to find out more about the greener side of automotive technology with a new display of the super groovy, super economical and super fast electric vehicles available in New Zealand which we’re putting together with the help of the Association for the Promotion of Electric Vehicles.” Hugely popular in 2013, the second edition of the Castrol EDGE / Teng Tools Custom Show will feature 60 of New Zealand’s best customised classics, muscle cars, hot rods, street machines, hi-tech imports and bikes. A second, exciting show-within-the-show is the brand-new Classic Cover Insurance Classic Show which celebrates New Zealand’s incredible heritage of classic vehicles with a dedicated hall featuring dozens of New Zealand’s finest classic cars and motorcycles. If you or anyone you know is interested in applying for entry to either the custom or classic show, please click on the relevant show logo on the top right of the CRC Speedshow website, www.speedshow.co.nz. New, fun and family-friendly – New Zealand’s fastest radio-controlled vehicles compete in the inaugural New Zealand Indoor Offroad Championship on a challenging, purpose-built indoor course. Hosted by the North Harbour Radio Controlled Car Club, this event will also provide fantastic opportunities for fans of all ages to have a go at racing a virtual radio-controlled car with great prizes for the fastest fans. Keep up to date with the latest CRC Speedshow news by visiting the website, www.speedshow.co.nz or following the show on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.
Superlap Round 5 (Hampton Downs Grand Final) Rundown
Hampton Downs hosted the Grand Final of the Custom Shirts / NZ Performance Car NZ Superlap Series for
this 2014 season, with this event being run in conjunction with the NZ Racing Driver’s League. Thick fog
made for a slow start to things on competition day, but the sun wasn’t far behind.
Pro Open saw a number of new faces
appearing and putting down very
competitive lap times. Team Hell Racing had
World Time Attack Champion Garth Walden
wing his way across the Tasman to pilot the
666 Evo8 again and he picked up the
quickest time of the weekend in practice
with a 1:06.0, only to be pipped at the post
by a tenth of a second in the competition
shootout by Alastair Wootten in his SR3 Radical. Third place went to Robert Berggren in his BMW M3
racecar after recording sub 1:10 laps consistently all weekend. Shaye Freeman’s Evo was also on form,
even peaking down into the 1:12s. Chris Parker finally got the boost issues sorted in his RIPS Skyline for
some quick laps, while Karl Patterson bought EVOTOY out of the garage to have a play. NZRDL organizer
Chris Watson even had his BMW out on track to round up the field. Sadly, Craig Benton sat on the sideline
with a broken gearbox after running in the 1:16s in his practice sessions.
Garry Sutton’s immaculate E&H Motors R33 GTR took the win in Pro Street with a 1:15.866, and series
regular Kat Benson was back with the
Burgerfuel Evo and set herself a new
PB for this track. Glenn Darrah also
joined the Pro Street series for this
round but mechanical gremlins meant
he could not complete a Superlap.
Street class was shaping up to be a
close battle with Shamil Arachchie
back in his number one car, the Supra,
and clocking in a 1:15 on Sunday’s
practice before some issues with the car saw him having to baby it around the shootout while Jaxon Sharp
flew around in his Evo getting into the 1:15s as well and taking out the win. Andre Simon and the STM
GT86 had been up at iSign it for a colour-change and seriously boogied around the track to take out second
spot convincingly. This Toyota gets
noticeably faster every time it’s out
on the track and will be exciting to
watch it develop over next season.
Trent Sutton’s R32 Skyline looked
good out on track, and Scott Kreyl
had borrowed the wife’s Evo9 wagon
for the Team Hell Racing crew
members to get some seat time in
and always turns heads while it
cruises the track.
As the sun went down organisers were busy working through the overall series results to do a season prize
giving in the skid pan. There was a great turnout of drivers and supporters, absolutely fantastic to see given
most folk were probably keen to get on the road with some long drives ahead of them.
The 2014 NZ Superlap Series Pro Open Championship was taken out by Scott Kreyl with such a huge point’s
lead he didn’t even need to compete this round. The battle for the rest of the podium was much closer
with several drivers knowing exactly what they needed to pull out of the bag to secure their spots. Shaye
Freeman did just that and walked away with second place, followed by Chris Parker in third.
Pro Street Superlap Champion for 2014 went to Kat Benson who was more than 200 points ahead of her
nearest rivals, Tony Austin and Garry Sutton who took joint second place.
Street class has been a great competition to watch throughout the season and had the most riding on it
coming into this final round. Taking it out in style
was Jaxon Sharp, our 2014 Street Superlap
Champion. Runner up Shamil Arachchie and then
series regular Nik Lowndes in third.
Dial Your Own has been down to the wire, but
Jaxon’s performances this weekend gave him the
edge he needed to be back in the winner’s circle
and take out the DYO Championship by 4 points.
Second spot going to Scott Kreyl and Kat Benson.
It’s been a fantastic season with numbers steadily growing. Development of the next season is already
underway along with some changes, so keep an eye on the web and Facebook for more information over
the coming months (http://nzsuperlap.co.nz/ & http://facebook.com/NZSuperlap). We would love to hear
any feedback on how we could improve the series for next season. I know I spoke to a few of you last
weekend, but if you have anything you’d like to add, feel free to reply to this email with your thoughts and
ideas.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank Kerri Mareeba for her help throughout the season, I’m sure
you will all agree, she was a great help getting things sorted both on the day, and behind the scenes.
Another huge thanks goes to Custom Shirts NZ and NZ Performance Car Magazine for backing the series.
Finally thanks to all our competitors
who competed throughout the
series!
Finally, Custom Shirts NZ and
Prowear has offered a special deal
to any teams that competed in the
NZ Superlap Series. They specialise
in fully customised, sublimated
Crew Shirts, Banners, Race Suits
(including gloves and shoes) and
much more. Get in contact with
[email protected] if you’d like to take advantage of this and get some new crew or race gear for
next season. Visit their website at http://customshirts.co.nz/ for samples.
We look forwards to seeing you back here next season.
Kaz Kostiuk-Warren, Kerri Mareeba and Azhar Bhamji
NZ Superlap Series
ACJS – from a girls perspective
Rochelle Boyce: All Classic Japanese Series My Season Well – some of you know, most of you won’t – I’ve currently been competing in the circuit race series, ACJS, All Classic Japanese Series. Now it’s for anything older than 20 yrs, cars that is, not drivers – so this year 1994 and older cars can enter the races. It’s a well-run series, and it’s competitive. 7 rounds of racing (with the provision you had to drop a round somewhere in the mix). Me, most of you know, has been around motorsport since I was 6 months old, as Mum & Dad competed in a mud plug the car club ran wayyyy back in the day (31+ yrs ago). I’ve been co-driving for dad since I was 12, doing hill climbs, rally sprints & rallies, and never really took the driver’s seat until later in my 20’s. Yes, that’s right I was 23 before I got my licence. I built up my road
KP60 Starlet – chucked a 4AGE in and slapped on some 45’s and off we went. I used it to go to and from work up until a few years ago. I did a few Autocrosses, and got a few certificates, but nothing serious. I’d done a few test days at Pukekohe Race Track, and decided, right enough is enough, let’s use this car for good, instead of evil. I’d been watching a few meetings and getting an itchy foot, so I set my sights on doing the next series for the ACJS. So my rookie season started in September 2013, Hampton Downs was the first round, and was a very
steep learning curve. I’d done a few test sessions at Hampton, but still didn’t know the right lines for the tack. I’d never raced with other people – in fact, I’d never raced. I had to attend a special briefing, which was helpful, and as we mingled around the pits, met a few interesting people. Turned out there were 3 ladies in my class, and as most motorsport – there was no separate class for us. We were split into time groups for points, and of course I was in the lower group, due to lack of experience. It still meant we all raced together though. Now in our class, I soon realised, I had the most underpowered car out there. My stock standard carburetted 4AGE was up against 1800 Vtecs, a turbo MX5, and a few standard MX5’s, a very very quick little Daihatsu Charade running an Evo engine, even a 240Z with a RB30 and a sneaky old CRX with a very quick driver. So there is definitely a variety within the class – and it turned out it was bloody competitive. 1st race – grids were done on our qualifying times. Out of a field of 22, I managed to qualify 20th. The very first lap was a steep learning curve, as I went over the rise – 2 cars were kissing each other nose to nose – and so I swiftly went around them – much to their disappointment – it meant that I had gained 2 places. Woohoo…this racing thing isn’t so hard after all. Not too bad for a beginner. I finished in 14th place, and was pretty stoked with myself for not coming last. I then realised, damn, the next 2 races were handicap – which means reverse grid, and a roll up start. So they work out the difference in our first race, and reverse us, and in theory, in the last lap – everyone should be trying to fight for first place, and come across the line at once. So that meant – I was at the sharp end of the field, and being my first event, you could say I was a tad apprehensive. I lined up, the flag dropped for the first people, then I was supposed to roll up. Me being a newbie, and still trying to take it all in, didn’t roll up, which only hindered my race. You only do this once, and then learn – roll up, roll up, roll up. Always roll up to the start line, and wait for your flag to drop. I also learnt my starts are terrible – and that is yet another thing to work on. 2nd race I managed to get 13th, and then in the last race 11th. With times gradually dropping from 1.26.953, down to a 1.25.049 in the last race. So all in all the weekend was a good start – car was in one piece – didn’t crash into anyone, or cause any accidents. Last little tid bit from this round – after we finished every race – the flag marshals all waved and clapped at me (well they did it to everyone) – but damn did that make me feel great.
2nd round – took us to Pukekohe – and I call this my home ground, as I know that circuit pretty much inside out. The addition of the new corners down the back straight proved a little difficult to get used to, and knowing the right entry angles, speeds, and gears to be in. It’s all great learning though. Well, I did a lot better at this track, and surprised a few people as to the speed I had at the track. I’ve speared off almost every corner at the track on test days, so I knew my limits, and where I could push. Including, passing faster cars around the outside on the front sweeper into the “esses”. Definitely a cool feeling – and always fun to give people a fright when they aren’t expecting it. As you take a trip around the pits – its good to introduce yourself to people, and give them a fright that “oh shit, that was a girl that passed me round the outside of the fastest corner in the country”. And of course I’m going to brag about it now – it’d be rude not too! Of course they only let me get away with that once – and then they speed checked me, because…who wouldn’t – and learnt that if this little blue starlet can do it, so can I. So in a way – I was proud that I had taught someone to go faster…bitter sweet – as it meant I had lost my advantage, but hey – that’s what motorsport is about. Learning. 19 started the day – and I qualified 11th. First race I managed a 13th, of which after that we moved the front camber in 1 notch. 2nd race was much better handling, and we got an 11th and finished the day off in race 3 11th as well. Gained a lot of confidence in round 2 – and learnt to roll up on the grid for my handicap races, although my starts still suck. 3rd round – back to Hampton Downs, of which I’m ok with – but still not my ideal track. I had re-wrapped my exhaust during the week, as I have issues with it unwrapping and leaving fluff everywhere. Damn I’m getting good at wrapping them through or so I thought. So half way during the 1st race, it started to get louder, and losing power. Either there was a big hole in the exhaust, or it’d fallen off. Either way – I had to finish the race, so did my best. Here’s a tip – if you can’t be fast – look fast. In this race because my car had lost all its back pressure it was being a pain to drive, I had decided to practice different lines, and get some good air through the s bends, just for fun. Got back to the pits to find that my exhaust had broken at the flange – actually more to the point the bolts on the flange where the extractors and exhaust connect mysteriously were not done up tight enough (now we could blame the girl who did them up – but that would get us nowhere, as the said girl – will just say “hey I’m just the driver”). Found some bolts and fixed it up, but at that point I was pretty disheartened, got a shocking time, the only consolation – it meant I was on Pole for the 2nd race. All in all, the day was one of my worst, due to the exhaust, and it had knocked my confidence, as I got lapped pretty quickly in the 2nd and 3rd races. Would have to say – this was my worst race meeting – so bad I don’t even have record of my times or place I got in each race (playing the sore loser card at this point) - the light at the end of the tunnel – next round we were back at my favourite track. 4th round – Pukekohe. The weather was overcast and threatening to rain. I didn’t have wet tyres for the car, all I had was the semi slicks, that I had purchased (thanks Daniel for buying them for me) at the beginning of the season. I had 2 spare old semi-slicks, but they were almost like slicks. Some of you will know that semi-slicks aren’t too bad in the rain – if they are new. So first race was in the dry-ish. It had rained, but a few races had dried the track out, and given us a nice dry line. 2nd race – was lined up on the grid – 3 of us got the same time, so we had to start 3 abreast – I had the slightly better time, so it meant I had to be on the outside. We started off – and I got a reasonably good start – out of the 3, I got 2nd, but we had started 37 secs down on the first car and 5 secs down on the car in front of us, so we had some catching up to do. Now in this race the weather was typical Puke weather – sunny at one end and showery rain at the other – so we had a damp track at the sweeper into the esses and onto the back straight, then halfway down into turn 5, it started to spit, and by the time you
got to the hairpin it was showering pretty good. So of course our tyres – poor things – didn’t know what to do. Well the reverse grid proved vital in my success in this race – myself and Michael Walters in his little civic got out the front – and damn did I push him. We were first and second – we are both new to the class…and damn did it feel good to be in front of all the fast people. Note to self – in an underpowered car, you can go just as fast in the wet, as in the dry – so keep your foot up it. 3rd race – it had rained, but there was a perfect dry line – so almost a dry race. Best day ever so far with racing – who could have ever guessed I’d get a 2nd place – in the wet no less. I had a grin from ear to ear – and was fist pumping as I came into the pits. 16 started the day. Qualifying we got 13th (it’s where I seem to fall into – I knew I had that number for a reason), race 1 got us a 12th place, race 2 a very excited 2nd place, and race 3 we managed to sneak in an 8th place. Great weekend all round – and had a ball in the wet. 5th round – Taupo. Now we had the option here of gaining extra points – as our points were getting counted as 1.5 times the normal amount – so we made the trip. It was a 2 day event, and I’m glad I have family in Turangi – otherwise it would have not been possible. With it costing $500 just in entry fees, garage hireage and testing day fees, I was glad I didn’t have to pay accommodation fees (and later on it paid dividends that we weren’t staying in a motel). So we took the day off work – and drove down on Friday morning. I’d never driven at Taupo track, and the last time I’d been there was to watch the A1GP. So we got there – unloaded and parked in our fancy garage – feeling rather special as we were like the real factory teams. Except we didn’t have big rig trailers and couches to have naps on. We did the testing, and it turned out not so bad. I quite liked the track – I was able to get some good speed through the corners and braking – but as always – my little car just got the doors blown off it, down the straights. We played a bit with tyre pressures and temperatures, trying to get the most out of our tyres. We had ongoing issues with the car – it wasn’t getting hot – but it was pushing a lot of water over to the overflow bottle. Now many of you know this could be a sign. With the car still only running at around 70⁰C, we weren’t sure. So instead of leaving the car at the track overnight – we took it back with us to my uncle’s farm where we were staying. We stopped off at Repco in town, and got a new radiator cap, and see if that would work. Took it back to the farm – put the temporary fix in place – and changed rear to front tyres – see if we couldn’t get some more drive out of them. Woke up the next morning, loaded Luc-e back on to the trailer, and off we went back to Taupo. We were at the sharp end of the race order – so it meant we got into qualifying reasonably early, and it meant we managed to squeeze in 2 races on Saturday. After qualifying, I was knackered. The track was a lot more involved than the normal two that we race at, and there was a lot more going on in the cockpit. With it also being the first time I’d raced here – it was full on, but damn was it exciting. After the first race, all seemed well. There were 12 classes running over the weekend, so we had a fairly decent wait in between. Good time to go watch the other classes, catch up on some yarns with the other competitors and trade “what did you get for xmas” stories. 2nd race came around, and yet again (and I didn’t touch them this time) – my car decided to create itself an exhaust leak. I’m pretty sure it was a tractor in a previous life – as it was determined to sound like one. So by the end of the race – car sounded like some had harpooned it, and was running fairly down on power. So came straight into the pits, and put the damn car back on the trailer. 2 days in a row, at this point I was feeling like it was a waste of time hiring a garage for it to sleep it overnight. So off we went – back to
Taupo township, to see if we could get a new exhaust manifold gasket (which it seems they are far to advanced down there, and had nothing for an old 4A engine), couldn’t get one, and so off we went back to the farm in Turangi. With an advanced call ahead, we’d organised the family farm’s neighbour Eric – to bring over his mig. We pulled the headers off
(of which on a 4age means having to slightly moving the position of the dizzy) and soon found it had cracked right through one of the tubes, right near the collector, which of course can’t quite be fixed with a bit of wrap. So with Eric’s gasless mig – we proceeded to weld up, in true Turangi farm styles, the exhaust – it wasn’t pretty – but it was good enough to do the job. We put the headers back on – with a bit of “rough is good enough” attitude of having to substitute silicon as gasket sealant – put the dizzy back in place – and started up. No more tractor noise, and we seemed to be free revving pretty good. But we’ve been caught out before with this – so unloaded off the trailer. Now my young cousins had been chomping at the bit to go for a ride with aunty in her car. So we strapped them in, and cane’d it around the paddock. Grasskhana autocross at it’s best doing doughys in the paddock. The car seemed to be revving good up to 10 grand – and not missing a beat. So everyone got a turn around the paddock – car seemed to be ok. Loaded her back on the trailer. Sunday morning – got back to the track to find that the racing had been cancelled the day before 1 race after ours, and a car had flipped at the end, and the guy in his single seater had broken his leg and a few other things, and got a helicopter ride to hospital. So this meant that there were still a few races to run, as well as ours. By the time we got to our race – it was 1pm. My family had all come out to watch – even my grandmother had made the trip from Tauranga with my Aunt, and the rest of my Turangi family were all there to cheer me on. So we went out for our warm up lap to grid up. So as I enter the track out of pit lane – we are all doing our weaving and warming up our tyres, and my car hits 6 grand – and baaarrp diiii raaaa diiii baarrrp – the ***** of a thing is missing. So at this point – I had no option but to start the race – all knowing that it wasn’t going to be good. I could imagine what my pit crew were thinking – as they no doubt had heard it too. So of course, to say the least - **** it – just drive it and get some points – and in fact – just try to kill it, seeing as it’s going to be a pain. So off we went – it turned out that myself and Michael (who’d I’d battled in the wet race to get 2nd and he won) – were yet again to battle. We were the fighting “missing” cars – it turned out that his car and popped a lead off, and so his too was making a horrific noise. So we battled it out over the race, as the rest of the field left us for dust. It turned out to still be a fun race – although frustrating. One of the best weekends I’ve had for my racing, as we learnt a lot, and we tried quite a few different things. Round 6 – Hampton Downs. I decided to drop this round as I’d spent too much money going to Taupo – and my car still wasn’t running good, decided that we would replace the head gasket, as that might solve our water problem, and save up to finish the season. Round 7 – Pukekohe – the final countdown. A few weeks before the event, ordered the new head gasket, and Dad said to me – I could have his good cams. Finally – I’d be waiting for ages for him to give me those cams – and to be honest – damn was I sick of those little Honda’s & MX5’x beating me. I was so stoked that I might finally have a bit more of a chance. So we (and when I say we – I mean Daniel) worked tirelessly over a few weeks to get the car running. Dad put the engine back together, and we took it testing. We had so many problems leading up to the event – the car was missing at 6 grand – and we couldn’t get it any better than a miss at 7500 rpm. There wasn’t a lot to try and figure out was wrong. There are all of 3 wires to make it run, and no computer, although we do run a CDI on the dizzy. So we took it to the dyno - $400 later – all they could tell me was that “it’s something electrical” – which really didn’t help us a lot. That was on Thursday. Daniel re-wired the car – tried getting everything nice and tidy, and new plugs and leads. A new coil was purchased and we put all these in. A massive dent in Daniel’s pocket for that weekend…but we finally got there. So qualifying – we were 2nd up, and just decided, right let’s get this done. So we went out, and the damn car was missing down the back straight – 6500 rpm in 3rd gear, 7500 rpm in 4th gear…I just put my foot up it and held it in the miss and then it pulled itself out. It felt good – but I was annoyed at the miss. Came into
the pits – and got my times – holy moly – 1.23.6 – 2 seconds faster than I’d ever done before. So then everyone starts coming to ask me – what have I done? Just put in some cams was my reply, but all of a sudden I’d got noticed. So was feeling pretty good – other than it missing. Everyone gave me shit – “oh Rochelle, that miss is really hindering you”. So yea – confidence kicked in, damn straight ACJS – look out!!! 1st race – I’d qualified 7th – never been that far up the sharp end of the field. We took off – and typically, got a bad start – but pulled it up – pulled out of the esses, and was close behind Paul Crispe. I fed the throttle slowly, and well what do you know…I was actually catching him…oh what, wait, I’ve got enough speed to pass him. So as I come up to his B pillar and slowly pull past him – he looks, and I see him shocked – and then grinning. Now if you look on YouTube for his video – you will see him cheering me on. That is what ACJS is all about – cheering each other on – of course after he cheered me on for most of that lap – he realised – oh wait I need to be in front of her the b*****. So we ended up finishing that race – and showing that we had pace – and I was there to play with the big boys now. The day ended well – even though my car was missing the whole day – I learnt that I just had to drive around the problems. Now I may have damaged my engine, but being the final round – it means – total rebuild time now, and see if we can’t make it stop the miss. The day ended with Race 1, 7th place, and setting my fastest ever lap time at Puke of 1.22.013. The 2nd race, I ended up 7th again, and in the 3rd we ended up a respectable 10th. Overall getting 3rd equal in class for the day. I had the best racing day of my career (oh see after doing a whole series, I think you can be cool enough to call it a career) – and I just know that there will be many more to come. I’ve had an amazing first season of racing. The competitors are amazingly great to be around on and off the track – and everyone is willing to help where they can. I huge thank you to all the helpers out here – and I will admit – every time I finish a race – the flag marshals all give us a wave – and I make a point of giving them a wave back. Not only do they keep our sport safe – but they are out there helping us to ensure we get to race. I’ve done my years as a helper at events since I was knee high to an axle stand – and I know how much goes into it. So a huge huge thank you to those helpers, marshals, photographers, spectators, administrators and MSNZ officials who all run the events, and let us be able to do what we love. I would like to thank Chris @ Rockstar Engineering for building my car, and helping me get to where I am today. I wouldn’t be here today without the help of my family. They have been there to support me, whenever and where ever they can, so without them, I would not be able to achieve my dreams of driving race cars. Last, but definitely not least – Daniel my partner – for taking on the massive effort of having a girlfriend who races cars, and drains his bank account on a regular basis. There is no difference in my mind between male and female racers – it’s all how you use that right foot on the track – and as many of the rally boys I grew up with, would say “Feed it ya nana”. I hope this may have inspired some of you out there, to get your cars out into a series – I’d love to come kick your ass!!! Just kidding – get out there, and most of all – have fun! Yours sideways, Rochelle Boyce
Chris West and Chris Cobham are both “a little sore but ok” following their high speed exit from the Drivesouth Rally of Otago yesterday.
The Andrew Simms Mitsubishi crew rolled 5.2km into the first stage on Sunday morning (the Taireri Beach forest test) after their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X ran wide on a very fast right hander. “We are both ok today, just a little sore. Cobby (Chris Cobham) has some bruising around the eye but was cleared by the medical team last night. It’s a testament to the strength of the car and the safety gear,” stated west this morning. After a difficult start to the rally on Saturday’s leg 1 with a
puncture, the pair had moved into second overall by the end of the day and were aiming to continue that pace during Sundays leg 2. “The car was 100% and we were looking to push on during Sunday. We ran a little wide on a long fast right hander, and there was a tree stump that caught the right rear wheel.” The Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X rolled a couple of times coming to rest on its roof, the following competitors on the stage stopped to provide assistance and the rally medical team were despatched to check on driver and co-driver. “I just missed the apex and got wide and at that speed there is no margin for error. Sometimes you get away with it but that stump was there and it was the end of our rally.”
WTCC - Loeb wins rain-soaked race one in Slovakia
Sébastien Loeb took his second WTCC win in a dramatic Race 1 at the
Slovakia Ring that had to be neutralized with the safety-car in lap 7
because of the heavy rain and was red-flagged two laps later.
The Frenchman benefitted from an excellent start from P2 on the grid to overtake team-mate and poleman José María López. A faultless race by the two, despite the conditions, gave Citroën another 1-2. Third was Norbert Michelisz (Honda) ahead of the Chevrolet RML cars of Coronel, Chilton and Morbidelli, with the Honda cars of Monteiro and Tarquini right behind. Rob Huff took the points of ninth for LADA and Yvan Muller finished tenth after having to serve a drive-through for jump start.
In his first real WTCC appearance, Petr Fulín (Campos Racing) imposed his SEAT among TC2 cars, after John Filippi went into the gravel during the safety-car period.
‘Hollywood’ Solberg becomes first winner in FIA World Rallycross SOLBERG TAKES THE OPENING ROUND IN MONTALEGRE, PORTUGAL.
The word 'world' was crucial during this weekend's rallycross action in Montalegre, Portugal. Not only was it the very first ever World Rallycross Championship event, it was the former World Rally Champion Petter Solberg who took the glory at the end of the day
The level of competition was extremely high from the word 'go,' when the long-awaited season finally kicked off. Early pace-setter Timur Timerzyanov and his teammate Timmy Hansen were among the favorites to take the overall win. However there was no happy ending for the Red Bull-backed Hansen crew that switched to Peugeot machinery this season after years of running Citroens.
Despite Timerzyanov's pole position both cars dropped-out in the semi-finals. Meanwhile Solberg managed to stay out of trouble, combining speed with consistency. After a win in the semi-final, 'Mr Hollywood' made it to The Final, where, despite not being the quickest of the line, he took another commanding victory. The Norwegian scored hist first triumph at the World Championship level since his victory in the 2005 Wales Rally GB. Last year, after switching from rallying to rallycross, he failed to make it to the top step of the podium in the European Championship.
The podium was completed by the Olsbergs MSE drivers Andreas Bakkerud and Reinis Nitiss. The Global Rallycross Championship-winning team – despite an all-new driver line-up – proved that it's going to be a threat again this year. The only other World Champion in the field – Jacquese Villeneuve – experienced a dreadful weekend. The former Formula 1 star didn't make it to the semi-finals after suffering from technical issues in his Albatec-run Peugeot 208.
Petter ‘Hollywood’ Solberg has shown just why he may be the most exciting driver in the newly-created FIA World Rallycross Championship by winning the opening round in Montalegre, Portugal.
“It’s a huge, huge emotion,” said Petter, surrounded by his loyal PSRX team and his wife, as well as team manager, Pernilla. “We’ve had some huge downs since we started rallycross and now this is a huge high, which I’ll always remember. To achieve what we have done – building a team from scratch, taking on established manufacturers with a private team, doing it all ourselves, with our own hands – has been a huge effort and sacrifice. But now all those nights without sleep have been worth it. I’d like to describe the feeling but it’s almost impossible. Let’s just say that I’m very happy.” “It means so much to me because it’s been achieved completely through our own hard work and determination. I’ve invested so much in this team and we have world-class facilities now, even though we don’t get any manufacturer support. But our mission this year was still to fight to win and we’re already doing that. I’d like to thank all our partners and of course our fans who made it possible. We’re going to enjoy this moment and savour every minute. It’s a very, very special moment in my career. Then we get straight back to work. This win just makes us all the more determined to carry on in this way. We’ve got a benchmark to aim for now!”
Audi travels as leader to DTM at Budapest FOUR RINGS ARE HEADING DRIVERS, TEAMS AND MANUFACTURERS STANDINGS
Next weekend (May 30 to June 1) the DTM is returning to Budapest after 26 years. Champion Mike Rockenfeller is traveling to round three of the season at the Hungaroring, where the drivers of all three manufacturers had met for pre-season track tests, as the new leader of the standings.
1,633 laps or 7,154 kilometers were reeled off on the track at Budapest at the beginning of April by the eight Audi drivers alone – the next weekend will show who made the best use of the official track tests in preparation for the first run of the new DTM in Hungary. The Audi squad is traveling to the Hungaroring as the hunted. Before round three, Mike Rockenfeller, Audi Sport Team Phoenix and Audi are leading the drivers, teams and manufacturers standings.
Everybody is looking forward to the 4.381-kilometer track that is the second-longest one on the calendar. Tailor-made for a DTM car, is the tenor of the race drivers’ comments about the challenging track featuring a mix of fast and slow turns, plus thrilling combinations. Qualifying will be particularly important because braking at the end of the start-finish line will arguably offer the only good overtaking opportunity, so a position at the front of the grid will play a major part in deciding the outcome of the race.
Fans can watch the time chase of the DTM race drivers on prime-time television. Qualifying at Budapest will only start at 18.10 (CEST), German Television ARD will be live on the air from 18.00. The race on Sunday will start at 13.30 as usual, with coverage on Das Erste beginning at 13.00.
The Audi drivers are looking forward to the support by many fans. The Audi plant in Győr is located only an hour and a halfs drive away. Audi is one of the major employers in the region. Audi Hungaria has more than 10,000 employees at the site and last year produced more than 1.9
million engines and more than 40,000 automobiles. Many Audi fans watched the track tests on location and autograph hunters had previously welcomed their stars at the airport.
Dieter Gass (Head of DTM): I’m looking forward to the DTMs return to Budapest. We tested on the track and were able to gather some good experience, so well be traveling to Hungary well prepared. The Hungaroring is a great track that suits the DTM cars well. I’m sure we’re going to experience a thrilling race weekend on which we can also count on the support by many Audi fans at our location in Győr.
Hans-Jürgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline): “Budapest is a new race track on the calendar. Hopefully we’ll have good weather but no matter what the atmosphere will be great and we’re facing a new challenge. We’ve already taken a few trophies home from Hockenheim and Oschersleben and will leave no stone unturned in Hungary to finally take home the big one.
Ernst Moser (Team Director Audi Sport Team Phoenix): Everybody will arrive at Budapest with the experience from four joint test days packed in their bags. Thats why I believe that the battle there will even
be closer than on most of the other tracks on the calendar. We’d like to get on a bit of a roll based on the good performance in the first two races and up the ante at Budapest.
Arno Zensen (Team Director Audi Sport Team Rosberg): During the official track tests we were fast at Budapest. That makes me optimistic for the race. The time will come when our guys are going to break their duck too.
Krohn Racing and The Stig heading to Le Mans on last-minute invite NINTH APPEARANCE FOR THE HOUSTON-BASED FERRARI TEAM
Krohn Racing has been invited by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) to return to the historic Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France for the 24 Hours of Le Mans race on June 14-15, 2014. They will participate in the competitive 19-entry GTE-Am class, one of 56 total entries, with their popular green-and-blue liveried No. 57 Krohn Racing Ferrari F458.
Houston, Texas-based team owner/driver Tracy W. Krohn and his long-time co-driver Swede Niclas (Nic) Jönsson will return for their ninth appearance at the 82nd running of the twice-around-the-clock enduro. They are currently co-driving in the International Motorsports Association (IMSA) TUDOR United SportsCar Championship in the U.S. with the Ferrari F458 this season.
Joining the duo will be Brit Ben Collins, who has three appearances in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, most recently in 2011, where he finished fourth in the LMP2 class with RML (Ray Mallock Ltd.) Racing. Collins has competed in motor racing since 1994 in numerous categories besides sports cars, including Formula Three, Indy Light, GT racing and stock cars. He recently finished fifth in the FIA WEC race at Silverstone in a Ferrari 458. Additionally, Collins, formerly known as "The Stig" on the popular TV show "Top Gear", has multiple credits in the entertainment industry as a precision and stunt driver, as well as a television presenter and talent.
"We could not be happier to receive this invitation from the ACO to race at Le Mans again this year. It will be the ninth year for Nic and I and we are excited to have Ben (Collins) joining us," said Krohn Racing owner/driver Tracy W. Krohn. "We've got plenty to do in the next couple of weeks to get our car prepared and to ACO specs but we'll do it and be ready for race week. Normally, we would say that we have our sights set on victory, but with all candor, at this point we are just really, really happy to be on the grid! We can't wait to get out on the track!"
"Due to another withdrawal in this year's 24 Heures du Mans race, the ACO has extended an invitation to the American team, Krohn Racing," said Vincent Beaumesnil, ACO Sporting Director. "Krohn Racing has participated in numerous races at Le Mans and in the WEC over the years and we are pleased to welcome their return the La Sarthe."
Krohn Racing has competed at Le Mans under its own team entity every year since 2011. In 2007-2010 Krohn combined with Risi Competizione and in 2006 with White Lightning Racing, in Krohn's first attempt at Le Mans. Their Le Mans results record includes three podium finishes in eight attempts, including a single second-place finish (2007) and two third-place finishes (2009, 2012).
Krohn will be the fifth American team scheduled to participate in the 2014 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Due to the late invitation and having experienced drivers, the Krohn Racing team and its drivers will not participate in the upcoming Le Mans Test on June 1, as they prep the car in Houston, Texas for shipment to Michelotto for required conversions to be ACO-eligible. It will arrive to Le Mans in time for their Monday afternoon, June 9th scrutineering appointment.
