Asian Motor Sports

One of the biggest crashes seen at Pukekohe Park marred yesterday’s round of the New Zealand V8s.

The spectacular seven-car pile up immediately after the start of race two for the V8s occurred at the entrance to turn one, with the field jockeying for position after the rolling start. A quarter of the field ended up either on the wrong side of the barrier, or parked up hard against it. Angus Fogg did a great impression of a skateboard trick, sliding along the top of the railing before slumping back on to the track.

Until in-car camera footage is assessed by officials it’s difficult to know how the incident started, but the end result saw Chris Adams’ and Boyd Norwood’s car over the safety fence, while the cars of Nick Ross, Cam Hardy, Alan McCarrison, Angus Fogg and Tim Edgell were strewn the left hand side of Pukekohe’s first sweeper.

Craig Baird, who’s competing in V8s and GT3s, saw it all unfold. “After the start I could see dust up front and when you see dust it normally means there’s drama happening. I backed off and just watched everyone else go ploughing in,” he said.

It was definitely a weekend to forget for championship contender Fogg.

During race one on Saturday, Fogg left the circuit just before the esses and rejoined in time to t-bone Edgell, punting him off the track. Fogg was hit with a penalty putting him at the back of the grid for yesterday’s race two where he was involved in the big pile-up. He also picked up a puncture in race three that put paid to his weekend.

When the dust had settled yesterday after the reverse grid third race, won by Kayne Scott, who was followed home by Baird and Andrew Porter. The round win went to John McIntyre with Paul Manuell in second and Scott third.

“We came into the round 19 points behind and we’re leaving 19 points ahead so it’s been a good weekend,” said McIntyre. “It’s good to claw back points after Taupo where we felt we should have done a lot better. This championship is pretty tough and now Paul’s [Manuell] popped up it’s good for the series.”

Long-time V8 campaigner Manuell put his car on pole for race one and despite two safety car incidents, the former champion held on to score his first race win in over a year from defending V8 champion McIntyre and Dean Perkins. “It’s been a long time between drinks,” said Manuell. “I had a big crash during the Targa Rally and it must have knocked some sense into me.”

When race two eventually restarted, albeit with five cars looking slightly worse for wear, Manuell held off the hard charging McIntyre for most of the race but eventually succumbed to the defending champion McIntyre.

Perkins again drove a steady race to finish third.

BNT V8s Championship – Round 2, Race 2 (16 laps)

Position, Driver, Hometown, Car, Points earned
1, John McIntyre, Nelson, Ford Falcon, 75
2, Paul Manuell, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 67
3, Dean Perkins*, Pukekohe, Ford Falcon, 0
4, Andrew Anderson, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 60
5, Paul Pedersen, Rotorua, Ford Falcon, 54
6, Kayne Scott, Hamilton, Ford Falcon, 49
7, Eddie Bell, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 45
8, Dale Williams, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 42
9, Michael Bristow, Pukekohe, Ford Falcon, 39
10, Adam Brook, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 36
11, Craig Baird, Gold Coast, Ford Falcon, 33
12, Andy Booth, Auckland, Holden Commodore, 30
13, Andrew Porter, Auckland, Ford Falcon, 28
14, Simon Richards, Hamilton, Ford Falcon, 26
15, Inky Tulloch, Gore, Ford Falcon, 24
16, John Penny, Taupo, Holden Commodore, 22
17, Andy Knight, Christchurch, Ford Falcon, 20
18, John Hepburn, Timaru, Holden Commodore, 18
19, Chris Adams, Mosgiel, Holden Commodore, 16
20, Nick Ross, Cambridge, Holden Commodore, 14
21, Boyd Norwood, Palmerston North, Ford Falcon, 12
DNF, Alan McCarrison, Auckland, Ford Falcon
DNF, Angus Fogg, Auckland, Ford Falcon
DNF, Cam Hardy, Hamilton, Holden Commodore
DNF, Dave Stewart*, Wellington, Holden Commodore
DNF, Steve Owen, Melbourne, Ford Falcon
DNF, Tim Edgell, Auckland, Ford Falcon
DNS, Shaun Turton, Pukekohe, Holden Commodore
* These drivers are competing on a round-by-round basis under a “parked V8 franchise” agreement and therefore are ineligible for championship points.