Richards Coming On Strong

 After two rounds of this BNT V8s championship Hamilton driver Simon Richards feels his fourth season is going strong and the Choice Hotels Australasia Ford Falcon is becoming a package which could very well see him enter a top 10 position.

Currently sitting inside the top half of the points table in 14th Richards looks towards this weekend where the V8 touring cars will contest round three at the Powerbuilt Raceway at Ruapuna near Christchurch.

He has performed well previously at the South Island circuit and sees this as an opportunity to strengthen his position in the championship before the Christmas break.

"We had a good run at Ruapuna last year, I remember having a good battle with Kayne Scott in the last race, so if all goes well we can come away with some good placings this time around also." said Richards.

With the Ballistic Motorsport team always looking at ways to improve the race car, a new Motech dashboard and brand new engine have given the team some extra potential.

With the new dash in place a few issues were picked up at Pukekohe which when corrected added to the performance of the Choice Hotels Australasia Ford Falcon.

"The car is going well and is good for a few more places up the field I think." said Richards.

Earlier this month Simon Richards was fortunate enough to have escaped being caught up in the major accident and pile up at Pukekohe Park Raceway which made headline news and caused damage to a number of cars.

"Our weekend could have been a lot worse like some of those guys but I think I can say we had a solid weekend and we can still go faster so I am looking forward to the next round at Ruapuna." said Richards.

"The key to us having a good weekend at Ruapuna will be in qualifying well and getting a good spot on the grid so I will be concentrating hard on that." he said.

The high speed action at Powerbuilt Raceway Ruapuna begins this Friday with practice sessions throughout the day.

On Saturday morning the BNT V8s have a three stage 'knockout' qualification session with their first of three races in the afternoon.

On Sunday morning the BNT V8s line up for race two and the action will be doubled with the afternoon's final race which will start in a completely reversed grid forcing the faster cars of the weekend to push their way through the field for valuable points.