Formula Ford driver Mark Haswell provided some of the most spectacular action at Pukekohe yesterday with a triple somersault off the track.
Competing in the Fords' third race, the Englishman's Stealth tangled with another car and roared into the air for a scary tumble in the infield beforelanding on its wheels. Haswell was not badly hurt.
In the second race, veteran Ken Smith had a high-speed crash into the safety barriers at the end of the pit straight. The 60-year-old escaped unhurt but his car was badly damaged and he did not race again.
The class was dominated by Aucklander Fabian Coulthard, who won all three races.
Each of the other three categories was also dominated by one driver - Ashley Stichbury with a Ford Falcon in the NZ V8 tourers, Barrie Thomlinson in a Toyota Altezza in the two-litre tourers and Paul Pedersen in a Chev Camaro in the Tranzams.
Pedersen's task was made easier when Stichbury's new Chev Corvette was not ready for the first Tranzam race. Stichbury then dropped out of the second when the bodywork flew off at the hairpin and he parked the Corvette for the day.
Stichbury was chased hard in the V8 tourers by Grand Prix winner Andy Booth, making his debut in a Commodore, but the Ford had the edge on the field.
Thomlinson's Toyota is clearly a force in the two-litres but last season's champion Team Kiwi Primeras still look a threat in the hands of John McIntyre and Rhys McKay. The BMWs of Aaron Harris and Kevin Bell were also prominent.
The Toyota of veteran Ed Lamont was hit from behind at the start of the back straight and hurtled onto the grass and through one of the horse-jumping hurdles. But the Toyota was back for the next race.
