Pitstop: Auckland streets look likely spot

By BOB PEARCE

Northern fans of V8 Supercars who flocked to Pukekohe in their thousands at the weekend had better hope that the Auckland City Council warms to the idea of a street race in the city.

Tony Cochrane, chief executive of the V8 controlling body, Avesco, has made it clear that from 2005 Pukekohe Raceway will no longer be considered because of a conflict with horse-racing.

By February, Avesco wants to make a decision on where the championship round or rounds will be staged in 2006. The choices are:

* A street race in Auckland.

* A street race in Wellington.

* An upgraded circuit at Manfeild.

Cochrane says Taupo does not have enough accommodation and the logistics of Ruapuna, near Christchurch, are unworkable.

He concedes that all the options will involve "millions" from the local authorities concerned, but he notes the Adelaide street race, after a big initial investment, now makes money.

A "bid team" will assess the three possible venues this week and Cochrane does not rule out deals with two out of the three, leading to either two rounds or rounds at different venues in alternate years.

Manfeild seems to have the inside running, with sympathetic councils and a circuit already in place, though the concerns that ruled out Taupo and Ruapuna may still be a factor.

Cochrane, who has all the well-known Australian characteristics, talked street races when event promoters IMG won the initial five-year contract for Pukekohe and he may be over-stating the fate of that circuit.

But even if the circuit continues to meet national standards, upgrading remains a problem because of the uncertainty about the intentions of racing interests, who control the land on which the track runs.

As audiences trickle into the ratepayer-funded Aotea Centre to hear the taxpayer-funded NZ Symphony Orchestra, the thousands who enjoy a different kind of noise might press for their sport to be similarly recognised.

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Scott Dixon's team-mate for next season's Indy Racing League championship is Englishman Darren Manning.

The 28-year-old spent the past season driving for Walker Racing in the Champ Car series.

He replaces Tony Renna, who was killed in a testing accident last month.

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Any hope that young New Zealand racing driver James Cressey might have harboured of winning this year's Australian Formula Three championship was dashed as he lined up for the final race at the Wakefield Park circuit in rural new South Wales on Sunday.

After finishing fourth in the first race the 19-year-old former New Zealand Formula Ford champion was driving from his pit to the dummy grid when his clutch failed, meaning that he could not even start the last race.

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Break Engines will be roaring again near Pukekohe this Sunday with the final round of the national motocross championships being staged at the Yamaha Raceway.

With 75 points still on offer in the three classes, positions can change quickly on the challenging track.

For most of the riders this will be the last major competition before the season finale, the TransTasman clash in Melbourne on December 7.

In the 125cc class Cody Cooper (Te Puke) is 10 points clear of former international Darryll King (Huntly). Visiting Scotsman Barry Morris (Upper Hutt) has shown his worth recently after a bad start back in August.

Shayne King (New Plymouth) has lost only one race in the 250cc championship. That was to Mark Penny (Te Awamutu), who is sitting behind King on the championship ladder.

The 500cc will have the King name on it. Sunday will determine whether it is Shayne, who has a six-point lead over Darryll with Damien (Cambridge) one win away in third.

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One car which stood out from the crowd in the New Zealand V8 races was the pink Holden driven by New Plymouth teenager Julia Huzziff.

The 19-year-old computer design student did the design herself and has also produced a range of race gear for sale to the public.

A graduate from karting, she has previously raced a two-litre Nissan and also won a race in the Formula Challenge single-seater series at Taupo.

On the Pukekohe track, local driver Dean Perkins made a flying start to the championship with two seconds in his GT Radial Ford to take the points lead.

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Phil Hellebrekers set himself a tough task in his return to Formula Ford racing at the V8 meeting at Pukekohe.

After a four-year break from single-seaters, the Aucklander took delivery of the very latest Spectrum car only days before the meeting. He finished ninth in the first race and second in the next.

The car Hellebrekers used to drive is in the capable hands of Palmerston North teenager Chris Pither, who also had a second placing behind dual-winner Simon Richards.

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Avondale College teenager Rose Halfpenny won her first race in the standard stock class at Baypark Raceway on Saturday.

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Auckland driver Roger Williams got the win he was looking for at the second round of the F5000 Tasman Cup Revival Series at Melbourne's Sandown Park on Sunday afternoon - albeit only after a close fight with Christchurch's Todd Stewart in the second race.

Williams (McRae GM1) had received a black flag in the first race for allegedly jumping the start and could only sit in his car in the pits and watch Stewart claim a debut win in his recently purchased ex-Brian Redman Lola T430.