Bay drivers up for hot action weekend

With 14 racing categories in action and 30 races across the weekend there is never a shortage of motor racing diversity to be seen at an Independent Race Classes (IRC) Summer of Thunder meeting.
And last weekend's penultimate 2010-11 season IRC event at the Hampton Downs circuit also showed off the wide array of racing machinery in the hands of Bay of Plenty drivers - from the thundering 6.0-litre Jaguar XKR of Tauranga's Andy Greenslade to the entry-level 1200cc VW single-seaters raced by Formula First teenagers Michael Scott (Te Puke) and Jason Carter (Mt Maunganui).
Local racers are most strongly represented in the GTRNZ, SS2000 and Pre-'65s saloons, all three of which saw races won by Tauranga drivers at Hampton Downs.
Honda Integra racer Justin Herbert retains an outside hope of winning the SS2000 series going into the Easter weekend finale at Taupo.
But a first-race incident at Hampton Downs in which guest driver Earl Bamber locked his brakes behind Herbert and pushed him off at the hairpin cost him dearly.
Herbert fought back by slicing through the big field in the handicap races to score two wins on Sunday and is third in the title chase.
Also consistently picking up good 1600cc class points in the SS2000 racing are youngsters Matt Dovey (Honda Civic) and Todd Prujean (Toyota Starlet), along with Honda Civic racer Richard Gee.
The 4.7-litre Ford Falcon XM of Peter Stevenson is always a front runner in the Pre-'65s series and last weekend Stevenson raced to a second and a sixth placing before coming through the field to win the handicap race.
Local interest exists right through the Pre-'65 grid, from the small-bore Austin A40 of Richard Hill to the monster Detroit Iron of the 6.5-litre Ford Thunderbird driven by Joanne Kapua. Craig Taylor enjoyed a solid weekend in his 6.8-litre Chev Nova with a sequence of sixth, fourth and third-place finishes.
Tauranga's Richard Grainger took a Saturday win in the GTNZ class with his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo and was a top-10 finisher in both Sunday races.
The GT series has plenty of BOP interest. Tauranga's Brett Harris (Nissan Skyline) is second overall in the points going into the final round at Taupo.
Reece Killingback had a consistent weekend with his unique turbocharged Subaru-powered Hillman Imp taking fourth, fifth and sixth places in GTNZ but it was a tough weekend for Mt Maunganui's Todd Gower, who heavily damaged his Nissan Skyline.
Andy Greenslade (Tauranga) raced to second-place finishes in all three races for the GT1 class and David Dovey (Tauranga) drove his Holden Commodore to second, third and fifth placings in the Super Six events.
For 16-year-old Te Puke racer Michael Scott, the second and fourth placings he claimed in Sunday's Formula First racing at Hampton Downs set a new high-water mark for his racing campaign.
The Summer of Thunder tour wraps up with the traditional Easter weekend (April 23-24) meeting at Taupo.