Motorsport: 2 teammates, 1 shared mission

Paul Radisich

Paul Radisich and Fabian Coulthard, who will represent Team Kiwi at Pukekohe this weekend, have vastly different experience and expectations.

But both have a burning desire to excel on a track where they began their careers decades apart.

Radisich, now in his 40s and with two world touring car cups to his credit, wants to win races for Team Kiwi and to contend for the V8 Supercar championship that has so far eluded him.

Coulthard, at 23, is only starting his Supercar career. He is employed by Team Kiwi and gets a drive in a Holden owned by Paul Morris that he will share in alternate races with Australian Alan Gurr.

Radisich was fifth last year at Pukekohe, a track he rates as highly as most in Australia. He switched last season from a long association with Fords to the Holden of Team Kiwi in a campaign to lift the Auckland-based outfit into the top flight. He had a podium finish in China and is optimistic about the future.

"We've got a big project here and we've come a long way," he said. "If we can capitalise on what we did last year, with the package we have we can achieve more podiums.

"It would be great to have Team Kiwi on the podium at Pukekohe where our loyal supporters can enjoy the moment."

Radisich, who lives in Melbourne, is one of the most experienced drivers in the field but he isn't talking retirement.

"Anything's possible," he said, "but as long as I continue to enjoy the racing side of it, I'll be keen to carry on."

Coulthard returns to Pukekohe with fond memories of his last meeting in November when he won all three Porsche GT-3 races. It was a continuation of the form that won him the Australian Carrera Cup Porsche championship last season.

But taking on the big boys in the V8 Supercars is a very different challenge where he is the new boy. That said, his potential has been recognised by Holden, who have made him one of their Young Lions, who will have their careers nurtured by the Australian manufacturer.

"It's great to have support from Holden," he said. "I think there will be a lot of advantages down the track.

"It's every boy's dream to drive in Formula One, but the reality is different. I'd like to think my future's in V8s and that I'll be part of the action for years to come."

Coulthard won a national Formula Ford title and the 2002 NZ Grand Prix in that category. He raced in British Formula Renault in 2001-2 before moving to Porsches, where he was rookie of the year in 2004.

He had a taste of V8 Supercars at Bathurst and made his debut in his Pukekohe car at the recent Australian Grand Prix meeting.

"We opted to use only one set of tyres in qualifying and I qualified 25th and I finished 21st, 19th and 22nd in the three races. I'd be very disappointed if I didn't finish in the low 20s to high teens at Pukekohe.

"Driving at this level at Pukekohe is very important to me because it allows me to keep in touch with people who have helped me in the past."

Also racing at Pukekohe in a Commodore will be Mark Porter, another Kiwi who has had sporadic drives at this level. Porter is a regular in the second-level V8 and this season is running his own team.