Booth aims to keep clear and fast at round two of V8 SuperTourers
Friday 1 March 2013, 1:20PM
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V8 SuperTourer driver Andy Booth aims to keep clear of any ‘dramas’ and make the most of the Woodstock Racing Commodore’ race pace when the series heads to Powerbuilt Tools Raceway in Christchurch for round two on 9 and 10 March.
“I’m definitely keen to avoid any first corner clashes which, to be honest, can be a big ask at Powerbuilt Raceway when the entire field is powering off the start into that big sweeping left-hander,” says Booth who was tangled in a multi-car pile-up at the first corner of February’s season-opening race at Hampton Downs.
“While the impact at Hampton didn’t look that bad, both front and rear suspensions suffered heavy damage which clearly limited our results in the following races,” says the Birkenhead, Auckland-based driver.
With the Woodstock Racing Commodore now repaired back to the exact specifications and settings which delivered excellent pace during the practice and qualifying components of the Hampton Downs’ race weekend, Booth is looking forward to racing in front of an enthusiastic Canterbury crowd.
“I have considerable experience at this circuit and even though we didn’t run as well as we’d have liked at the first round we contested here last year, at the final round last November we were very pleased with the car’s performance, making it to the podium, despite having had no practice time at all due to an engine failure.
“Since then the whole team has moved forward with our experience with the car and our focus is to be right on the pace early on. If we can keep out of the dramas, we should have a sold weekend of results.”
Booth gets his Canterbury weekend underway with a Woodstock Racing meet-and-greet session at the Kaikanui Tavern in Kaiapoi north of Christchurch from 4pm to 7pm on Thursday 7 March.
The Powerbuilt Raceway schedule on Saturday 9 March sees Booth and fellow V8 SuperTourer competitors on-track for two 45-minute practise sessions before their all-important 20-minute qualifying session at 3:10pm. Thanks to Mike Pero Real Estate and V8 SuperTourers Ltd, all Christchurch schoolchildren and their parents have the opportunity to enjoy an action-packed day of racing action with free entry to the circuit on Saturday.
On Sunday 10 March, Booth grids up for three races: 12 laps in length from 10:40am, 16 laps at 1:15pm and 25 laps at 4pm. Full race schedules and ticket information is available from the series website www.v8st.co.nz.
Currently 12th on the championship points-table, the former two-time NZV8 champion will be looking to leap up the leader-board with a strong result in Christchurch.
Andy Booth and the Woodstock Racing Commodore compete in the BNT V8 SuperTourers with the support of Woodstock Bourbon and Cola, Wynn’s, SG Fleet, Advanced Transaction Systems, Toptul, Precision Autowerk, Central Towing and New Balance. Follow Woodstock Racing via Facebook https://www.facebook.com/andyboothracing or see www.andyboothracing.com for more news and updates.