Pitstop: Booth revs it up in new livery

By BOB PEARCE



Defending champion

Andy Booth intends to be at the front of the pack when the New Zealand V8s start their season at Pukekohe this weekend.

Booth will drive the same Holden Commodore as last season. But Team Kiwi is no longer in the Parker Enzed championship so he joins Paul Manuell in the Orix Team.

He intends to continue the measured approach that won him the championship.

"Last season I think other people's bad luck made it look easier than it was. Now everybody's more professional and everyone will have made improvements.


"Front of the pack is the best place to be," Booth said, "and that's where I hope to be. You certainly don't want to be too far back."

Booth and Manuell, a former champion, are comfortable with the new team arrangement. The cars are prepared separately, but the drivers and engineers share information.

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Rebuilt Pedersen

back Former V8 champion Mark Pedersen's Ford Falcon is much the same as last season, but the driver has had a rebuild.

Pedersen was laid low by glandular fever throughout the championship, missing some rounds and barely surviving others. Paul Radisich and John McIntyre proved more than adequate replacements but it made for a frustrating season for the United Video Team.

Pedersen has thrown off the fever, lost 9kg and eased his continuing back problems. He's also moved house to Maraetai, where he can head off on a mountain bike into the forest.

He intends to ease his way through the Pukekohe round before the car is refreshed for the rest of the season.

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Bathurst revamped

Bathurst may have hosted the premier domestic motor-racing event in Australia for more than 40 years, but the racing had outgrown the venue.

This year the first stage of a A$24 million ($25.8 million) redevelopment was starkly evident in the 36 new pit garages, with corporate suites above and a rooftop viewing area. A four-storey race control tower caps the new building.

The State Government chipped in A$10 million ($10.75 million), the Federal Government matched that and Bathurst Council provided the rest.

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Third manufacturer

Aussie V8 supremo Tony Cochrane is promoting the idea of a third manufacturer joining Ford and Holden in the Supercar championship by 2007.

But he may have problems with the fans if the two Aussie favourites come under threat. The last non-traditional winner was a Nissan GT-R in 1992 in the hands of Jim Richards and Mark Skaife - and the fans booed them on the podium.

Cochrane's interest in another manufacturer has been sparked by the expansion of the series to China, where Holden has little commercial interest.

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Fords strong as ever

The advent of the new Toyota single-seater class has not depleted the ranks of the Formula Fords, which retain their status as a premium national class.

Kerry Cooper of Motorsport New Zealand expects 18 Fords to be on the grid for most races, with some Toyota drivers competing in both classes.

The entries for the second-level V8 series, which Cooper believes has a potential of 18 cars, have been less encouraging.

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Special franchise spot

Thirty-six franchise spots are officially available for cars in the Parker Enzed national V8 tourer championship, but a special dispensation will let Daynom Templeman run his Holden Commodore as a 37th starter.

Templeman leased a franchise last season, but could not do so this year and had nowhere to drive because his VY Holden was ineligible for the second-level series.

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Grudge match

New Zealand will take on Australia in a 125cc challenge at the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island this weekend. The Kiwis are Andrew Evans (Christchurch), Simon Dartford (Wellington), Wade van den Arend (Invercargill), Mandy New (Auckland), Paul Cook (Auckland), Kevin Brookes (Whangamata), Ross King (Auckland), Mark Robinson (Auckland), Sam Smith (Pukekohe) and Steven Wood (Blenheim).

Last year Australia won a similar clash in the Supersport class. This weekend Hayden Fitzgerald (Wanganui), Karl Morgan (Auckland), Dominic Jones (Invercargill) and Gary Cunningham (Auckland) will be out for revenge.

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Roestenburg clinches it

Marty Roestenburg clinched the Top Half Rally Series by coming second in the Rally of the North on Saturday.

Last year Roestenburg crashed while leading and severely injured his back and was advised by doctors not to continue racing because of the risk of further injury. But the South Auckland driver defied the pain to campaign this winter in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo3 and beat all but Andrew Hawkeswood on Saturday.

Hawkeswood, who finished second in the national championship, led from start to finish in his Lancer Evo6 78s in front of Roestenburg, who was well clear of third-placed Glenn Rosser of Hamilton.