Motorsport: It's lock, stock and barrel

Zach Lawrence and the hair he won't be parting with in a hurry. Photo / Duncan Brown

Hawke's Bay superstock driver Zach Lawrence has been copping plenty of flak about his long hair.

The track commentator at Meeanee, Mike Wilson, has been asking if he's waiting until he gets a girlfriend before the locks get trimmed. When Lawrence didn't respond to that question Wilson suggested he uses his locks as a fundraiser and Lawrence indicated that could be a possibility when he wins a title in the future.

"In the meantime I will keep growing it to brass people like Mike off. As for girlfriends, I don't have time for them because I spend too much time working on the car," Lawrence said.

That work is paying off. Nearing the end of his second full season in the class, Lawrence, 22, has been one of the big improvers in the class and a fortnight ago he finished second by one point to Hawke's Bay Hawkeyes captain Steve Jude in the Hawke's Bay championship. Tomorrow night he will be one of 35 starters from the North Island in the Autumn Nationals at Meeanee.

"I know I'm not going to get things as easy as last meeting. Mike McLachlan [one of the Bay's biggest hitters and regular stirrer] has already told me there will be no free passes so I could end up with some damage," Lawrence said.

Because of his previous motorsport background - 14 years as a motocross rider including a couple of national championship podium finishes in a variety of classes and two seasons in the ministock class which saw him finish second at the prestigious Ministock in Paradise event in Rotorua - Lawrence's superstock form was always going to be watched with more than a hint of expectation. His first outing, the last meeting of the 2014-15 season, took longer than originally anticipated and Lawrence got a hard time about this from Wilson also.

"We took a while to sort out a few issues ... there was no point in rushing it. We needed time with a brand new motor so to be on the pace pretty quickly after just a few meetings was pretty pleasing," Lawrence explained.

What makes Lawrence's second placing to Jude even more significant is the fact his Straight 6 Ford-powered car, which was built by former Hawke's Bay driver Brent Larsen, is run on half the budget of many of his opponents. This is one of the reasons he isn't putting too much pressure on himself in the countdown to tomorrow night's meeting.

"I grew up watching a lot of the blokes I'll be up against, Rotorua's Pat Westbury and Palmy's Scott Joblin to name a few, so just to qualify for the top 26 for the final race will be pretty good," Lawrence said.

A signwriter with Speedy Signs in Hastings, Lawrence did the signwriting for the Hawkeyes team which won the ENZED Teams Champs in Palmerston North. His long-term goal is to race for the Hawkeyes.

"Hopefully being one from one with my signwriting for them might prove a good omen," Lawrence said.

He agreed there had never been more depth and quality in Hawke's Bay's superstock class than there has been this season.

"There are heaps of cars here and there will be more next season. This will make the class stronger and fans will remember that's how Palmerston North got strong," Lawrence said.

There's no doubt Lawrence has the goods on and off the track to achieve his goals regardless of whether his locks are trimmed.

The fact he didn't want to leave his interview without thanking his sponsors was another indication. They are Laser Dynamics, CNC Profile Cutting Services, The Brand Outlet and Henderson Road Panel and Paint.

Tomorrow night's other feature attractions will be the 22-car Kuru Cup stockcar event, the 12-car Hawke's Bay super saloon championship and the David Jones Motors Gold Cup for saloons. Ministocks and solobikes will provide the support classes and a fireworks display will end the season.