McIntyre in lead as BNT V8s head for Christchurch

Going into the third round of the BNT V8s championship, defending V8s champion John McIntyre, from Nelson, leads the series by a narrow margin over Hamilton’s Kayne Scott, making a Ford one-two at the top of the BNT V8s’ points’ table. The BNT V8s contest round three of their 2008-09 championship at Powerbuilt Raceway at Ruapuna Park outside in Christchurch over the weekend of 28–30 November.

As the super-competitive BNT V8s prepare for their three-race weekend on the tight and technical Powerbuilt Raceway, the three Holdens of Andy Booth, Paul Manuell and Andrew Anderson are handily positioned, points-wise, behind McIntyre and Scott.

While these top five competitors have clearly demonstrated their ability to put together consistent top placings in the BNT V8s first two rounds, it was the huge crash at round two on the fast Pukekohe circuit that’s grabbed recent headlines.

With at least eight, up to 13 cars involved, the Pukekohe crash has created a significant workload for a number of teams as they repair severely-damaged cars in time for this first South Island round of the BNT V8s’ season.

On this situation, McIntyre comments: “I’m simply happy to have a straight car to take to the next round!”

Despite spinning over the safety fence, Chris Adams and Boyd Norwood were able to continue racing, as were Angus Fogg and Nick Ross who were both in the thick of the incident. Cam Hardy, who has been penalised by officials for his part in the multi-car crash, is yet to decide whether his Holden’s chassis can be repaired. In the meantime the young Hamilton driver will sit out round three. Alan McCarrison’s Ezybuy Car Auctions Ford featured in images published from the horror crash, bouncing and spinning high above Dave Stewart and Tim Edgell, but the Aucklander is now a confirmed entrant for the Powerbuilt Raceway event.

The Chesters BNT Ford of Auckland’s Tim Edgell is one that has seen intense work from the Edgell Automotive team in the three weeks between the two rounds. Returning from having the chassis straightened just a week before next Friday’s official testing in Christchurch the team will be working flat out to complete the rebuild ready to depart their Glenfield home-base on Wednesday.

“Well, we’ve had a tough year just when we were starting to show some real potential with our fifth-fastest qualifying position at Pukekohe. It’s a short turnaround between these two rounds and we’re still not 100 per cent sure we’ll have the car ready to head south,” says the 28-year-old Edgell. “With damage at both rounds so far – none it our fault – people need to consider the money, time and engineering input required to race at this level. We all want high quality racing, not crashes.”

When he raced Formula Fords a couple of years ago, Edgell held the lap record at Powerbuilt Raceway. “Assuming we get the car ready in time – and we’re doing our utmost to do so – there’s no reason the car won’t go well here. We’ve shown good speed in both rounds which shows the potential.”

The Altherm Holden of Wellington driver Dave Stewart was so badly damaged he’s bought another car which is now nearly ready to take south. “The car was a bit of a mess,” said Stewart. “Basically from the firewall forward it was wrecked and we decided there was just too much work needed to fix the chassis that was already tired, being seven years old and no longer rigid enough to respond to fine handling adjustments.”

Having suffered a bit of bruising around the shoulders and his left foot where he thinks it banged the pedals, Stewart was like the other drivers involved in the crash, escaping without serious injury.

“The first thing you think when you see a crash like this, is I hope everyone’s okay,” comments Kerry Cooper, general manager of The MotorSport Company which promotes the BNT V8s series. “Thankfully everyone was.

“The BNT V8s is the premier saloon car racing series in New Zealand and we certainly don’t enjoy seeing our competitors caught up in these frightening and expensive crashes! This series is about top class, competitive racing and there’s been a fair bit of discussion amongst teams and organisers about ways to lessen the chance of this sort of thing happening again. Interestingly we got through the opening round of this season’s championship in Taupo without a single safety car incident.

“Many teams have been working overtime getting ready for round three in Christchurch and we applaud the efforts of Tim Edgell, Dave Stewart and others in keeping their commitment to the BNT V8s. On a personal, professional and financial level, they are demonstrating outstanding dedication to the series, sponsors and fans and we look forward to a strong field in Christchurch.”

Australian driver Steve Owens will again replace the injured Paul Radisich in the HPM Racing Ford at Pukekohe, and the entry of another Australian V8 Supercar driver David Besnard is yet to be confirmed for the Pak N Save Ford of SCG Racing.

Testing for the Hampsta 200 at Powerbuilt Raceway at Ruapuna Park takes place on Friday 28 November with 25 competitors, maybe 26 if Besnard is confirmed.

The BNT V8s run a three-part qualifying programme from 12:25pm on Saturday 29 November. All competitors run in an initial 20-minute qualifying session, then the fastest 20 run for a 15-minute session, and the top ten effectively run a top ten shoot-out for another 15 minutes. Race one – 12 laps – is scheduled for 4:25pm on Saturday with a 16-lap race at 11:30am on Sunday 30 November and a 20-lap reverse grid race at 4:20pm on Sunday afternoon, all with rolling starts.

The Hampsta 200 premier motor race meeting also includes the Porsche GT3 Cup Series, Toyota Racing Series, New Zealand Production Racing Championship, the MTA Formula Fords and the Mini Challenge for a full weekend’s race schedule.

The BNT V8s website – www.nzv8s.co.nz – features the latest news, photos, event information and options to purchase tickets for each of the championship rounds. Tickets can also be purchased at the gate or from participating BP petrol stations. Results and news are loaded onto the website throughout the weekend.
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BNT V8s Championship – Provisional Points after Round 2
Position, Driver, Hometown, Car, Total Points
1, John McIntyre, Nelson, Ford Falcon, 345
2, Kayne Scott, Hamilton, Ford Falcon, 332
3, Andy Booth, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 253
4, Paul Manuell, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 239
5, Andrew Anderson, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 238
6, Paul Pedersen, Rotorua, Ford Falcon, 234
7, Michael Bristow, Pukekohe, Ford Falcon, 222
8, Craig Baird, Gold Coast, Ford Falcon, 196
9, Eddie Bell, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 195
10, Dale Williams, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 189
11, Paul Radisich, Melbourne, Ford Falcon, 181
12, Andrew Porter, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 175
13, John Penny, Taupo, Holden Commodore, 163
14, Adam Brook, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 144
15, Simon Richards, Hamilton, Ford Falcon, 140
16, Angus Fogg, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 138
17, Steve Owen, Melbourne, Ford Falcon, 108
18, Inky Tulloch, Gore, Ford Falcon, 99
19, Boyd Norwood, Palmerston North, Ford Falcon, 98
20, John Hepburn, Timaru, Holden Commodore, 91
21, Chris Adams, Mosgiel, Holden Commodore, 90
22=, Alan McCarrison, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 88
22=, David Besnard, Gold Coast, Ford Falcon, 88
23, Nick Ross, Cambridge, Holden Commodore, 85
24, Andy Knight, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 77
25, Cam Hardy, Hamilton, Holden Commodore, 54
26, Tim Edgell, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 49
27, Julia Huzziff, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 48
28, Shaun Turton, Pukekohe, Holden Commodore, 18