McIntyre dominates V8s qualifying to take pole

The defending champion, Nelson-based John McIntyre, came through three V8 Supercar-style qualifying sessions to take pole position for the opening weekend of the NZ Truth V8s Championship at Pukekohe.

With a time of 1:01.088, McIntyre piloted his BP Ultimate Ford around the Pukekohe circuit over 0.3 of a second faster than closest rival Angus Fogg in the Havoline Ford, but only 0.5 of a second then covered the remaining top eight qualifiers.

The NZ Truth V8s Championship opened at Pukekohe this weekend with the Fujitsu 200 event contested by a talent-filled field of 33 V8s, comprising 20 Fords and 12 Holdens. New qualifying rules see the whole field complete an initial 20 minute qualifying session, then the top 20 go through to a 15 minute session. Only the top ten contest a final 15 minute session to determine the final starting grid.

McIntyre said he only intended to do enough in the first two sessions to get through to the next sector. “We then had a plan for some changes to the car which we felt would make it faster for the final top ten shoot-out,” says McIntyre. “In fact, we were fastest in the first two sessions which was great, then we made those changes and made the car even faster which shows that our off-season plans to develop a better qualifying process have worked. It was great team work all round.”

The NZ Truth V8s contest their first 14-lap race of the weekend late on Saturday afternoon, then two races on Sunday with the third of those races a full reverse grid.

More information about the NZ Truth V8s Championship can found on www.nzv8s.co.nz .



The 2007-08 NZ Truth V8s Championship

Official qualifying - Fujitsu 200, Pukekohe Park, 3-4 November

Car no., Driver, Hometown, Car

1, John McIntyre (Nelson) Ford Falcon BA, 1:01.088

2, Angus Fogg (Auckland) Ford Falcon BA, 1:01.468

3, Andy Booth (Auckland) Holden Commodore VZ, 1:01.501

4, Paul Radisich (Melbourne) Ford Falcon BA, 1:01.521

5, Kayne Scott (Hamilton) Ford Falcon BA, 1:01.567

6, Mark Pedersen (Auckland) Ford Falcon BA, 1:01.643

7, Dean Perkins (Pukekohe) Ford Falcon BA, 1:01.707

8, Cameron McLean (Brisbane) Ford Falcon BA, 1:01.789

9, David Besnard (Gold Coast) Ford Falcon BA, 1:01.849

10, Paul Manuell (Pukekohe) Holden Commodore VZ, 1:01.854

11, Andrew Anderson (Auckland) Holden Commodore VY, 1:02.083

12, Luke Youlden (Melbourne) Ford Falcon BA, 1:02.154

13, Andrew Porter (Auckland) Ford Falcon BA, 1:02.440

14, Michael Wallace (Dunedin) Holden Commodore VY, 1:02.462

15, Tim Edgell (Auckland) Ford Falcon BA, 1:02.504

16, Clark Proctor (Auckland) Ford Falcon BA, 1:02.692

17, Nick Ross (Cambridge) Holden Commodore VZ, 1:02.885

18, Adam Brook (Christchurch) Ford Falcon BA, 1:02.945

19, Dale Lambert (Drury) Ford Falcon BA, 1:03.105

20, Connel McLaren (Auckland) Ford Falcon BA, 1:03.136

21, John Penny (Taupo) Ford Falcon BA, 1:03.063

22, Inky Tulloch (Gore) Ford Falcon BA, 1:03.116

23, Kevin Williams (Auckland) Holden Commodore VZ, 1:03.171

24, Andrew Fawcet (Wellington) Ford Falcon BA, 1:03.196

25, Darryn Henderson (Wellington) Holden Commodore VZ, 1:03.220

26, Haydn Mackenzie (Auckland) Ford Falcon BA, 1:03.346

27, Simon Richards (Hamilton) Ford Falcon BA, 1:03.509

28, Chris Adams (Mosgiel) Holden Commodore VY, 1:03.633

29, Eddie Bell (Christchurch) Holden Commodore VY, 1:03.674

30, Dave Stewart (Wellington) Holden Commodore VY, 1:03.724

31, Julia Huzziff (Auckland) Holden Commodore VY, 1:04.306

32, Cam Hardy (Hamilton) Holden Commodore VZ, 1:06.624