Scott on pole for BNT V8s while Fogg wins race one

Hamilton’s Kayne Scott took his Fujitsu Ford to pole position in the third round of the BNT V8s Championship in Christchurch on Saturday, but it was LG Ford driver Angus Fogg who took the weekend’s first win.

Racing at Powerbuilt Raceway at Ruapuna Park, Scott was fastest in each of the three qualifying sessions. The former V8s champion’s – and five-time Tranzam champion – pole-winning time was 1:30.135, more than one hundredth of a second under the V8s class lap record of 1:30.267 set by Paul Pedersen in 2005 for the twisty technical Ruapuna circuit. Although the lap record can only be broken during actual races, Scott’s time is indicative of the increasingly intense pace at the front of the BNT V8s field.

With the second quickest time – also under the lap record – was Angus Fogg in the LG Ford who then got a brilliant start against Scott to lead the 24-strong V8 field into the first corner.

“I was watching for the green light and just went,” said Fogg, who leaps from 16th to 11th in the points’ standings with the 75 points earned for a BNT V8 race win. “It certainly helps with the championship points to get a win or two.”

Chasing Fogg, Scott also had to battle a fast-starting Craig Baird in the United Video Ford, but held on for second while Baird was pleased to get a podium finish in the BNT V8s class after a dominant win in the Porsche GT3 Cup class earlier in the day.

Baird’s swift move down the inside during the rolling start took him passed Andy Booth (Big Ben Pies Holden) and John McIntyre (Talley’s Ford) in the second row. Booth and McIntyre then battled for fourth and fifth place virtually for the entire 12 lap race with McIntyre getting passed Booth at one point, but Booth regaining the advantage on the very next bend.

“That makes three Waikato – or ex-Waikato – boys in the top three,” laughed Fogg who was originally from Cambridge while Baird, who now lives on the Gold Coast, was originally Hamilton.

“It’s nice to be in the lead points-wise,” commented Scott. “Angus had an exceptional start and I’d actually like to do that start all over again!”

Baird said it’s important not to overdrive the V8. “With the Porsche you can push them hard everywhere and these are a good fun car, but you can’t push them so hard. It’s good to be here, having finished third.”

From a relatively well-placed sixth on the grid, Paul Manuell in the Orix Holden suffered a broken throttle cable on the last lap, while Andrew Porter also suffered engine problems in the Hydraulink Ford and Boyd Norwood’s weekend was over after qualifying with a gearbox failure.

Christchurch’s Andy Knight and Eddie Bell finished sixth and seventh respectively with trouble-free races while, in eighth, Tim Edgell had a stronger run that reflected his quick testing times on Friday after changing a problematic gearbox after qualifying. Paul Pedersen bought the Tigercat Ford home in ninth to move from sixth to fourth on the points’ table and another Christchurch driver Adam Brook wrapped up the top ten.

The starting grid for Sunday’s first race of 16 laps is determined by the finishing order of race one. Fogg says he has a gearbox to strip overnight for the LG Ford. “The reshuffle of the grid sees Baird behind me now, so that could change things.”

The weekend’s third race is a full reverse grid battle with the starting order determined by adding together the points from the first two races and then reversing the order. Race two is scheduled to run at 11:30am on Sunday 30 November and the 20-lap reverse grid race at 4:20pm on Sunday afternoon, all with rolling starts. News and results are posted on the BNT V8s website, www.nzv8s.co.nz, throughout the weekend.

ENDS/

BNT V8s Championship – Qualifying, Round 3

Qualifying position, driver, hometown, car, qualifying time

1, Kayne Scott, Hamilton, Ford Falcon, 1:30.135

2, Angus Fogg, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 1:30.222

3, Andy Booth, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 1:30.671

4, John McIntyre, Nelson, Ford Falcon, 1:30.780

5, Craig Baird, Gold Coast, Ford Falcon, 1:30.968

6, Paul Manuell, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 1:31.225

7, Andy Knight, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 1:31.276

8, Eddie Bell, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 1:31.401

9, Paul Pedersen, Rotorua, Ford Falcon, 1:31.816

10, Tim Edgell, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 1:32.058

11, Andrew Anderson, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 1:31.509

12, John Penny, Taupo, Holden Commodore, 1:31.688

13, Steve Owen, Melbourne, Ford Falcon, 1:31.784

14, Andrew Porter, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 1:31.806

15, Adam Brook, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 1:31.979

16, Michael Bristow, Pukekohe, Ford Falcon, 1:32.086

17, Simon Richards, Hamilton, Ford Falcon, 1:32.289

18, Dale Williams, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 1:32.604

19, Nick Ross, Cambridge, Holden Commodore, 1:32.773

20, Inky Tulloch, Gore, Ford Falcon, 1:33.163

21, John Hepburn, Timaru, Holden Commodore, 1:33.484

22, Alan McCarrison, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 1:33.918

23, Dave Stewart*, Wellington, Holden Commodore, 1:34.253

24, Chris Adams, Mosgiel, Holden Commodore, 1:34.519

25, Boyd Norwood, Palmerston North, Ford Falcon, 1:36.020

* These drivers are competing on a round-by-round basis under a “parked V8 franchise” agreement and therefore are ineligible for championship points.

BNT V8s Championship – Round 3, Race 1

Position, driver, hometown, car, provisional points

1, Angus Fogg, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 75

2, Kayne Scott, Hamilton, Ford Falcon, 67

3, Craig Baird, Gold Coast, Ford Falcon, 60

4, Andy Booth, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 54

5, John McIntyre, Nelson, Ford Falcon, 49

6, Andy Knight, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 45

7, Eddie Bell, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 42

8, Tim Edgell, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 39

9, Paul Pedersen, Rotorua, Ford Falcon, 36

10, Adam Brook, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 33

11, Dale Williams, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 30

12, Simon Richards, Hamilton, Ford Falcon, 28

13, John Hepburn, Timaru, Holden Commodore, 26

14, Alan McCarrison, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 24

15, Andrew Anderson, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 22

16, John Penny, Taupo, Holden Commodore, 20

17, Dave Stewart*, Wellington, Holden Commodore, 0

18, Chris Adams, Mosgiel, Holden Commodore, 18

19, Steve Owen, Melbourne, Ford Falcon, 16

20, Nick Ross, Cambridge, Holden Commodore, 14

21, Paul Manuell, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 12

22, Inky Tulloch, Gore, Ford Falcon, 10

23, Michael Bristow, Pukekohe, Ford Falcon, 9

DNF, Andrew Porter, Auckland, Ford Falcon

DNS, Boyd Norwood, Palmerston North, Ford Falcon

BNT V8s Championship – Round 3, Provisional points after Race 1 of 3

Position, driver, hometown, car, provisional championship points

1, Kayne Scott, Hamilton, Ford Falcon, 399

2, John McIntyre, Nelson, Ford Falcon, 394

3, Andy Booth, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 307

4, Paul Pedersen, Rotorua, Ford Falcon, 270

5, Andrew Anderson, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 260

6, Craig Baird, Gold Coast, Ford Falcon, 256

7, Paul Manuell, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 251

8, Eddie Bell, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 237

9, Michael Bristow, Pukekohe, Ford Falcon, 231

10, Dale Williams, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 219

11, Angus Fogg, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 213

12, John Penny, Taupo, Holden Commodore, 183

13, Paul Radisich, Melbourne, Ford Falcon, 181

14, Adam Brook, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 177

15, Andrew Porter, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 175

16, Simon Richards, Hamilton, Ford Falcon, 168

17, Steve Owen, Melbourne, Ford Falcon, 124

18, Andy Knight, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 122

19, John Hepburn, Timaru, Holden Commodore, 117

20, Alan McCarrison, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 112

21, Inky Tulloch, Gore, Ford Falcon, 109

22, Nick Ross, Cambridge, Holden Commodore, 99

23, Boyd Norwood, Palmerston North, Ford Falcon, 98

24, Chris Adams, Mosgiel, Holden Commodore, 92

25, David Besnard, Gold Coast, Ford Falcon, 88

26, Tim Edgell, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 88

27, Cam Hardy, Hamilton, Holden Commodore, 54

28, Julia Huzziff, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 48

29, Shaun Turton, Pukekohe, Holden Commodore, 18

30, Dave Stewart*, Wellington, Holden Commodore, 0

31, Dean Perkins*, Pukekohe, Ford Falcon, 0