Taupo Promises Tough Battle for Lobb

The second round of the Formula Suzuki Series will be held this weekend at Taupo Motorsport Park and it promises to be all action between series leader Caine Lobb and tough combatant Gene Rollinson.

Earlier this month it could have gone either way when Whangarei's Lobb and Aucklander Rollinson were tied a win a piece after the first two races at the opening round at Manfeild. But it was Lobb who headed back north the victor after an unfortunate Rollinson suffered a DNF in race three.

"We were trading the lead in the final race before he (Rollinson) had trouble. His car is fastest in places and mine is faster in others." said Lobb.

Expecting a showdown this weekend Lobb believes it should be a good one for the series with some hot battles not only between the two but others in the mixed field.

"The field includes other classes with some different open wheeled cars and sports cars giving us over 20 cars in a race. Gene (Rollinson) will be keen to make up for last time so he'll be the one to watch." says Lobb.

The Formula Suzuki race cars are equipped with aerodynamic front and rear wings plus F3 slick tyres. Along with being lightweight at just 425kgs the 175hp Hayabusa powerplant provides an impressive power-to-weight ratio of 450hp per ton.

The Formula Suzuki Series drivers get underway with free practices on Friday 22nd at Taupo Motorsport Park. After further practice sessions on Saturday morning the competition begins with race one in the afternoon followed by race two on Sunday morning and race three that afternoon.

The weekend is hosted by the IRC (Independent Racing Classes) who are providing plenty of exciting racing entertainment alongside the Suzukis with a variety of several other competitive racing series.

In just two weeks Caine Lobb will be back under the tinned top of the Mark Cromie Holden Racing Team's V8 Racing Ute over the weekend of 5-7th November for the season's opening round of the ENZED V8 Ute Racing Series.

He and the team will be making a committed attempt at reclaiming the title after becoming runner up last season to Palmerston North's Chris Pither. Lobb was champion the previous season.

This season the ENZED V8 Ute Racing Series joins Motorsport New Zealand's Premier Championship (Tier One) taking it's rightful place alongside headliner category the BNTV8s which can boast a field of New Zealand's best touring car drivers.

"I'm really looking forward to getting back into the ute and back into the tier one meetings which are always a lot of fun with good crowds and some of the best drivers from around the country." says Lobb.