Multiple champion McCall stages a comeback at Whitianga Festival of Speed

As entries closed for this weekend’s opening round of the 2010 Asset Finance New Zealand Offroad Racing National Championship a two-car team has upset the odds for event class and outright winners.

Multiple national champion Tony McCall, and Woodhill 100 winner Alan Butler have signed on in class three Super 1600 and the unlimited class one respectively, and will race as a team.

McCall will run Butler’s Woodhill-winning Cougar Toyota single-seater in the ultra-competitive class three field, which numbers more than 20 cars.

Butler will debut his new American race car in the unlimited class. He says he is aiming to play himself in with the big new car, having only once driven it in a practice session at Meremere.

“This new car is bigger than the Cougar, so it will take some getting used to, but there’s no better place to gain experience than in the heat of competition.”

Butler will use the smaller engine the car arrived with while he awaits completion of a new power plant.

“That means I can focus on the handling and braking characteristics of the car without worrying too much about the engine.”

McCall, meanwhile, says he is “definitely” out to enjoy a competitive drive. The number 308 car he is driving is owned by Butler, and is up for sale. McCall says he is keen to show it at its best.

“I’m not coming down to make up numbers or make other people look good. This is a super-competitive class three car, a potential championship winner; I’m going out to win some races if I can, and make sure people understand just how quick this thing is,” he says.

A shakedown at Meremere at the weekend gave both Butler and McCall confidence in their challenge.

“The car’s great, easy to get used to, it will run all day at 9,000 rpm and the frame is a carbon copy of my old championship-winning car. Alan needs chair time in the new car, and he needs to get this car sold. There’s no better way to do that than to show people its race form!”

Action at the first round of the 2010 Asset Finance New Zealand Offroad Racing Championship begins with qualifying sprints for the Sunday enduro, then there’s a drivers’ parade at 10.45. The first short course (stadium) race heats are at 11.00 am; second at 1.00 pm and the third at 3.00 pm.

Sunday’s endurance race covers 33 laps of a slightly larger course at the same venue and starts at 11.00 am.