Pitstop: Kiwi drivers midfield in A1 tests

Championship leader driving in China

Fresh from victory in the Hawkes Bay round of the national rally championship last weekend, Masterton driver Richard Mason will be competing in China over the next couple of days.

Mason, who leads the New Zealand championship, will drive a 2003 Subaru Impreza WRX for the GT Tires team in a round of the Chinese championship.

The car was driven to podium placings earlier in the season by Australians Cody Crocker and Ed Ordynski and was driven in China last year by Chris Atkinson, who now competes for the Subaru works team in the world championship.

The Chinese championship attracts a number of European teams and is very competitive.

Baird signs strong team for Bathurst

Kiwi Craig Baird will join forces with a Champ Car driver for the Sandown and Bathurst endurance races in the Australian V8 Supercar championship.

Baird's team, WPS Racing, has signed up Canadian Alex Tagliani and Aussie Marcus Marshall from Team Australia, which made its debut in the Champ Car series this season.

They will be paired with regular V8 drivers Baird and Aussie David Besnard in combinations that will be worked out after a testing session.

In the days of two-litre touring cars at Bathurst Baird finished the 1000km race first in a BMW only to be disqualified for exceeding the maximum driving stint.

Team Kiwi and Morris may join forces

Team Kiwi look likely to join forces with Paul Morris Motorsports to pair Paul Radisich and Paul Morris in their lead car for the V8 endurance races at Sandown and Bathurst.

The two teams have worked closely together this season and Team Kiwi principal David John says two experienced drivers would make them potential winners rather than aiming only for a top-10 finish.

A decision on the pairing and the car they would use will be made next week. The teams expect to have new engines available for Sandown.

Holden race fans get in the swim

Looking for something to wear when the V8s roar at Pukekohe? Female fans can show their loyalty by donning the latest addition to the Holden Racing Team catalogue - a red bikini.

The bikini, which will cost around $45, joins the huge range of Holden merchandise, including apparel for men, women, children and infants, plus remote-control cars, umbrellas, lunch boxes, bar runners, chairs, watches, key rings, glassware, can coolers and even life-size Mark Skaife cardboard cutouts.

Memorial rally set for Te Kauwhata

The forests around the township of Te Kauwhata are set to rumble to the sound of rally cars next weekend as the township plays host to the Greg Todd Memorial Rally on August 13. The Auckland Car Club event is the third North Island round of the national Rally Extreme championship and the fifth round of the Top Half series.

A total of 64 cars will compete over a combination of tarmac (55km) and gravel (76km) stages before a final sprint on the 2.1km Manukau Superspecial.

Top seed is Rally Extreme leader Lewis Scott from Wellington in his Mitsubishi Lancer EVO6. Scott will be pushed hard by 1990 national rally champion David Ayling (Inglewood) in his Subaru Impreza STi.

Ford celebrating 80 years in Australia

Ford will mark its 80th year in Australia at round eight of this year's V8 Supercar championship at Sydney's Oran Park on August 12-14.

All 14 official Ford entries will carry "Ford 80" on their windscreen headers. Adding to the celebration will be a number change to 80 and a special one-off livery for Greg Ritter's Falcon.

The design will feature a special logo developed to celebrate Ford's 80 years in Australia, as well as its 80-year partnership with the Geelong Aussie Rules Football Club. The Ford-Geelong partnership is believed to be the oldest sporting sponsorship in the world.

NZ racer shines at Silverstone meeting

Former New Zealand Formula Ford champion John Crawford (McRae GM1) spearheaded another impressive Kiwi team finish in the second Derek Bell Trophy race at the 2005 Silverstone historic motor-racing meeting in Britain.

The Christchurch man, who these days oversees the preparation and maintenance of most of the New Zealand-based F5000 racing cars, qualified 10th and worked his way up to sixth place at the flag.

Kart racer out for hat-trick of wins

Karter Bradley Tyrrell, 18, will be trying for a hat-trick of wins in the Rotax Max Challenge at Waitara this weekend.

Tyrrell missed the first round of the Challenge because of commitments in Australia but he has won the second and third rounds outright and is odds-on favourite to claim the fourth. His main competition should come from fellow Arrow drivers Daniel Kent and Paul Cameron.