Motorsport: I'll keep fighting, vows ousted V8 leader

John McIntyre last night vowed to fight for as long as it takes to regain the New Zealand V8 championship points he has lost through an alleged technical infringement.

McIntyre, the championship leader with only the Pukekohe round on April 21-23 to go, has been relegated to eighth and out of contention for the title after event director Graeme Robertson ruled that the cylinder head he used at Manfeild and Taupo did not comply with the regulations.

The Auckland Ford driver lost all his points from those meetings plus an additional 20-point deduction, a $400 fine and endorsement of his licence until May 12.

Rotorua Ford driver Paul Pedersen suffered an even greater setback at the hearing in Auckland yesterday. He lost all his points from four meetings, plus the same 20-point penalty, was fined $400 and had his licence endorsed. He slips from sixth to 32nd.

Both drivers intend to appeal against the decision at a stewards' meeting this week. The alleged breach, reported in the Herald last week, concerns the measurement of the cylinder head. Technical officials impounded seven heads after the Taupo round but no further infringements have been notified.

If the drivers do not win their appeal they have the option of taking the matter to a motorsport court of appeal, which is unlikely to be convened before the Pukekohe round.

"This could go on for a long time," said McIntyre last night. "I'm very disappointed and I still believe we are in the right. We have two chances to establish that and we'll take it all the way.

"It is not part of our case because we believe we have interpreted the rules properly, but the measurement in question is very unlikely to have given any performance advantage.

"There is a lot of skulduggery in motorsport but we're not into that. I'm certainly not going to go down that path, pointing the finger."

Lyall Williamson, principal of the International Motorsport team that runs Pedersen's car, said the rulebook was a grey area and the way the rules were written led to differences of interpretation.

"We will be appealing and whatever happens the rulebook has got to be sorted," he said.

"Motorsport really needs to have a look at the way things are heading. We have our biggest meeting with all the Australians here and we're getting into these things at this late stage."

Williamson said Pedersen's engine was built outside the team, while the unit that has powered Angus Fogg to second place in the championship was built in-house and was not under a cloud.

In the wake of yesterday's decision, rumours were rife about other cars under scrutiny for technical breaches. The rivalry is so intense that it would not be out of the question for the championship to end under protest.

At Pukekohe during the PlaceMakers Australian V8 Supercar meeting, the New Zealand V8s will have three races.

Whatever the outcome of the appeal, McIntyre will be able to take up whatever position he achieves in qualifying because he has not yet used his one engine change without penalty. Pedersen, who blew an engine early in the championship, will have to start from the back of the grid if he has to make a second change.

NEW STANDINGS

* Kayne Scott (Holden) 1020 points
* Angus Fogg (Ford) 986
* Andy Booth (Holden) 855
* Mark Pederson (Ford) 765
* Paul Manuell (Holden) 697
* Luke Youlden (Ford) 632
* Cameron McLean (Ford) 632
* John McIntyre (Ford) 594