KEY POINTS:
Australian Bill Hemming has brought his Elfin Formula 5000 car across the Tasman to do battle with the locals at the Tasman Grand Prix meeting at Pukekohe this weekend.
Hemming's car was built in 1976 and competed successfully towards the end of the Formula 5000 era in Australia
and the US.
The 5-litre V8 single seaters are similar to the modern A1GP cars that raced at Taupo last weekend. The meeting, which has attracted a record 265 entries, hosts the second round of the 2006-07 Tasman Cup Revival Series for Formula 5000 single-seaters.
Van Der Drift heads international line-up
Rising international motor-racing star Chris Van der Drift heads an all-star line-up for this weekend's CIK Trophy kart meeting at Mystery Creek. Van der Drift finished second in the European Formula Renault Cup championship last year and is one of a record 150 entries for the annual international meeting.
Motocross stars ride on through pain
Fourteen-year-old Hamish Dobbyn from Warkworth dominated the junior 125cc races at the final round of the national supercross championships at Tokoroa despite riding with a broken bone in each hand. He was pipped for the championship by Rotorua's John Phillips, who crashed heavily at Tokoroa but rode on with a badly injured knee.
Ambrose posts good time at Daytona
Former Aussie V8 Supercar champion Marcos Ambrose has successfully completed the first Nascar Busch series open test for 2007 with the 12th fastest time at Daytona International Speedway in Florida. He will make his Busch series debut at the track on February 17.
Suspension bolt blamed for failure
New Zealand V8 championship leader John McIntyre says that it was a damaged bolt in the front suspension of his Ford Falcon that caused him to pit twice and finish near the back of the field in the reverse-grid final race at Taupo. He had won the previous two races.
A1GP scaffolders quickly on the job
The efficiency of the organisation at the A1GP meeting was impressive. No more so than when Cook Strait-strength winds toppled a five-metre high scaffolding sign gantry over one of the entrances early on race day. Within half an hour, a team of expert scaffolders swarmed over the structure and by the time the crowds arrived, it had been dismantled and squared away.
Driver set to return as spectator
Austrian A1GP driver Tomas Inge was keen to find out where Rally New Zealand would be staged this year. He hopes to return to watch one of his friends compete in August.
