Scott wins Hamiltons first BNT V8 race

Newly-crowned BNT V8s champion Kayne Scott won an incident-filled first race on the streets of Hamilton.

Scott’s win came only after he had to regain places lost at the start and then get passed the strong-running LG Ford of pole-setter Angus Fogg on the tenth lap – a move that left Fogg literally spinning. Initially officials found no fault with Scott’s manoeuvre, so provisional results show the Hamilton Fujitsu Ford driver as victorious in his first race start as the new champion. However, Fogg has filed a protest which is due to be reviewed by stewards at 5pm.

The race’s rolling start saw Fogg get away cleanly, while from the second row Craig Baird and John McIntyre both made it passed Scott with a finely-judged inside line to reach turn one in front. But Scott then regained a position from McIntyre by the end of the first lap and as lap two finished, Scott had also got passed Baird to be back in second position.

Meanwhile, after breaking a driveshaft during Friday’s qualifying sessions and starting from the back of the grid, Tim Edgell piloted the repaired Chesters Ford through the field into an astounding ninth place in just one lap. And former champion Paul Manuell suffered further misfortune after blowing an engine on Friday. Having started from the back of the grid beside Edgell with a replacement engine Manuell said was “...the spare, spare motor”, he then got caught up in a melee with Cam Hardy, who was racing in his first BNT V8 race since being involved in the car-wrecking crash during October’s opening round at Pukekohe. Manuell looks to be out for the weekend, while Hardy managed to keep racing.

Mid-way through the race, fifth-placed Andy Booth suffered a complete brake failure in the Big Ben Holden to clip the back of fourth-placed McIntyre. This put Booth out and is unsure if he’ll run in Sunday’s race. McIntyre dropped down to 13th, a position from which the former champion will have start in tomorrow morning’s race assuming there is no serious damage to the BP Ultimate Ford.

Baird dropped out of third place with an increasingly severe misfire in the United Video Ford; his team will be replacing the engine overnight.

After Scott’s move on Fogg and Baird’s demise, Hydraulink Ford driver Andrew Porter was in the right place to secure a well-deserved third position. Dean Perkins bought the GT Radial Ford home in fourth and Tim Edgell took advantage of a slight mistake from ITM Holden driver Andrew Anderson on the last lap to snatch fifth place.

During the race Scott set a new lap record on the revised and slightly quicker circuit, his time of 1:31.828 under the record McIntyre set in 2008 of 1:32.982.

The BNT V8s contest a second 14 lap race on Sunday morning and an 18 lap race on Sunday afternoon, completing their part on the support card for the Australian V8 Supercars. Starting positions for the second and third races are taken from the finishing positions of the previous race, unlike the regular championship rounds which feature a full reverse grid in the weekend’s third race.

ENDS/

BNT V8s trophy round, Hamilton 400

Position, Driver, Hometown, Car, Provisional points earned

1, Kayne Scott, Hamilton, Ford Falcon, 75

2, Angus Fogg, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 67

3, Andrew Porter, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 60

4, Dean Perkins, Pukekohe, Ford Falcon, 54

5, Tim Edgell, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 49

6, Andrew Anderson, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 45

7, Michael Bristow, Pukekohe, Ford Falcon, 42

8, Nick Ross, Cambridge, Holden Commodore, 39

9, Adam Brook, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 36

10, John Hepburn, Timaru, Holden Commodore, 33

11, Inky Tulloch, Gore, Ford Falcon, 30

12, Andy Knight, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 28

13, John McIntyre, Nelson, Ford Falcon, 26

14, Simon Richards, Hamilton, Ford Falcon, 24

15, Cam Hardy, Hamilton, Holden Commodore, 22

16, Shannon Coker, Hamilton, Holden Commodore, 20

17, John Penny, Taupo, Holden Commodore, 18

DNF, Craig Baird, Gold Coast, Ford Falcon, 0

DNF, Andy Booth, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 0

DNF, Paul Manuell, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 0