Manuell wins from pole in BNT V8s at Pukekohe

Pukekohe’s Paul Manuell made it a start-to-finish win in the first of three races this weekend in the BNT V8s Championship.

Having secured pole position during Saturday’s qualifying for the Hydraulink 200, Manuell, a former V8s champion in the Orix Holden, went on to win an action-packed race from defending V8s champion John McIntyre and long-time top V8s competitor Dean Perkins.

The twelve lap race involved two incidents that required safety car intervention – the first being on the very first lap when, racing very closely, Andy Booth, Craig Baird, Andrew Porter and Michael Bristow clashed. Booth then scored a drive-through penalty by officials.

Manuell kept to the front, successfully fighting off a very determined Kayne Scott in the Fujitsu Ford while McIntyre and Fogg were also involved in a battle at close-quarters. McIntyre had the inside line going around Pukekohe’s infamous right-handed sweeper as Fogg was forced wide, shooting off onto the grass into the esses. Coming back onto the circuit, Fogg touched the unfortunately-placed Tim Edgell, sending him off.

The 28-strong field down to 24, the next incident saw Scott spun at the hairpin, allowing McIntyre and Perkins through behind Manuell for the chequered flag.

“Kayne [Scott] had real good pace down the chute,” explained a delighted Manuell. “He was right on my tail at the hairpin and the next thing he was gone. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve had a pole position so it’s fantastic to win from pole and show the team I’ve still got a bit of talent!”

“Our car isn’t quite as good as we’d hoped today,” said McIntyre, but the two-time V8s champion was delighted to move into the series lead the points earned from his second place. Provisionally McIntyre now has 228 points, Scott is second with 206, Radisich third with 181, Booth fourth on 174 and Fogg and Paul Pedersen fifth equal on 146 points.

Earlier in the day, Fogg’s successful appeal against an official decision that excluded him from the results of race three at the BNT V8s Championship opening round in Taupo early in October saw the points’ leader-board was reshuffled. At that point Paul Radisich, who’s not racing this weekend due to injuries sustained at Bathurst, led with 181 points, Kayne Scott was second with 178 points, Andy Booth third with 162 points, John McIntyre fourth with 161 points and Fogg moved into fifth place with 122 points.

Perkins was also delighted to be on the podium for his first race of the season. The long-time V8 campaigner is running a truncated V8 series this season as he looks for a new sponsor. “There was quite a bit of action in the field! Kayne going off just left me in the right place, which is great for our team which is running a new Ford engine built by Wayne Anderson who also builds Paul’s [Manuell] engines,” said the Pukekohe driver.

The second part of the BNT V8s Championship at Pukekohe sees a 16-lap race on Sunday morning and a 20-lap reverse grid race on Sunday afternoon, both with rolling starts.

ENDS/

BNT V8s Championship – Round 2, Race 1 (12 laps)
Position, Driver, Hometown, Car, Points earned
1, Paul Manuell, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 75
2, John McIntyre, Nelson, Ford Falcon, 67
3, Dean Perkins, Pukekohe, Ford Falcon, 60
4, Andrew Anderson, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 54
5, Steve Owen, Melbourne, Ford Falcon, 49
6, Paul Pedersen, Rotorua, Ford Falcon, 45
7, Eddie Bell, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 42
8, Dale Williams, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 39
9, Andy Knight, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 36
10, Cam Hardy, Hamilton, Holden Commodore, 33
11, Michael Bristow, Pukekohe, Ford Falcon, 30
12, Kayne Scott, Hamilton, Ford Falcon, 28
13, Adam Brook, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 26
14, Angus Fogg, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 24
15, Simon Richards, Hamilton, Ford Falcon, 22
16, Nick Ross, Cambridge, Holden Commodore, 20
17, Inky Tulloch, Gore, Ford Falcon, 18
18, Alan McCarrison, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 16
19, John Hepburn, Timaru, Holden Commodore, 14
20, Andy Booth, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 12
21, Dave Stewart, Wellington, Holden Commodore, 10
22, Boyd Norwood, Palmerston North, Ford Falcon, 9
23, Chris Adams, Mosgiel, Holden Commodore, 8
24, John Penny, Taupo, Holden Commodore, 7
DNF, Andrew Porter, Auckland, Ford Falcon,
DNF, Craig Baird, Gold Coast, Ford Falcon,
DNF, Tim Edgell, Auckland, Ford Falcon,
DNS, Shaun Turton, Pukekohe, Holden Commodore,

BNT V8s Championship – Round 2, Qualifying
1, Paul Manuell, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 1:01.539
2, Angus Fogg, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 1:01.539
3, Kayne Scott, Hamilton, Ford Falcon, 1:01.574
4, John McIntyre, Nelson, Ford Falcon, 1:01.620
5, Tim Edgell, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 1:01.982
6, Dean Perkins, Pukekohe, Ford Falcon, 1:02.059
7, Andrew Anderson, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 1:02.175
8, Michael Bristow, Pukekohe, Ford Falcon, 1:02.223
9, Craig Baird, Gold Coast, Ford Falcon, 1:02.416
10, Andrew Porter, Auckland, Ford Falcon, No time set
11, Andy Booth, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 1:02.127
12, Steve Owen, Melbourne, Ford Falcon, 1:02.163
13, Paul Pedersen, Rotorua, Ford Falcon, 1:02.210
14, Eddie Bell, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 1:02.237
15, Andy Knight, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 1:02.302
16, John Penny, Taupo, Holden Commodore, 1:02.622
17, Cam Hardy, Hamilton, Holden Commodore, 1:02.749
18, Inky Tulloch, Gore, Ford Falcon, 1:02.818
19, Dale Williams, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 1:02.825
20, Adam Brook, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 1:02.870
21, Simon Richards, Hamilton, Ford Falcon, 1:03.304
22, Alan McCarrison, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 1:03.577
23, John Hepburn, Timaru, Holden Commodore, 1:03.650
24, Nick Ross, Cambridge, Holden Commodore, 1:03.684
25, Dave Stewart, Wellington, Holden Commodore, 1:03.728
26, Boyd Norwood, Palmerston North, Ford Falcon, 1:04.537
27, Shaun Turton, Pukekohe, Holden Commodore, No time set

BNT V8s Championship – Provisional points (after race 1 of round 2)
1, John McIntyre, Nelson, Ford Falcon, 228
2, Kayne Scott, Hamilton, Ford Falcon, 206
3, Paul Radisich, Melbourne, Ford Falcon, 181
4, Andy Booth, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 174
5=, Angus Fogg, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 146
5=, Paul Pedersen, Rotorua, Ford Falcon, 146
7=, Andrew Anderson, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 144
7=, Michael Bristow, Pukekohe, Ford Falcon, 144
9, Eddie Bell, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 135
10, Paul Manuell, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 133
11, Dale Williams, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 120
12, Craig Baird, Gold Coast, Ford Falcon, 96
13, John Penny, Taupo, Holden Commodore, 89
14, David Besnard, Gold Coast, Ford Falcon, 88
15, Andrew Porter, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 87
16=, Adam Brook, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 84
16=, Simon Richards, Hamilton, Ford Falcon, 84
18, Inky Tulloch, Gore, Ford Falcon, 71
19, Alan McCarrison, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 64
20, Boyd Norwood, Palmerston North, Ford Falcon, 63
21, Dean Perkins, Pukekohe, Ford Falcon, 60
22=, Andy Knight, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 54
22=, Chris Adams, Mosgiel, Holden Commodore, 54
24, Nick Ross, Cambridge, Holden Commodore, 53
25, Cam Hardy, Hamilton, Holden Commodore, 51
26=, Steve Owen, Melbourne, Ford Falcon, 49
26=, Tim Edgell, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 49
28, Julia Huzziff, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 48
29, John Hepburn, Timaru, Holden Commodore, 36
30, Shaun Turton, Pukekohe, Holden Commodore, 18
31, Dave Stewart, Wellington, Holden Commodore, 10

2008-09 BNT V8s Championship calendar
Round 1 (Fujitsu 200), Taupo Motorsport Park, 3-5 October 2008
Round 2, Pukekohe Park, 7-9 November 2008
Round 3, Powerbuilt Tools International Raceway (Christchurch), 28-30 November 2008
Round 4, Timaru International Motor Raceway, 9-11 January 2009
Round 5, Teretonga Park (Invercargill), 16-18 January 2009
Round 6, Manfeild Park (Fielding), 27 February - 1 March 2009
Round 7, Pukekohe Park, 13-15 March 2009