KEY POINTS:
In the first day of racing on the new Hamilton street circuit, John McIntyre dominated the New Zealand V8 support races with two wins from two in much the same manner he recently won the New Zealand V8 championship.
McIntyre first set a blistering lap time more than
eight-tenths of a second faster than closest rival, Angus Fogg, during Friday's Hamilton 400 qualifying sessions, then won both the first rain-shortened race and the second action-packed contest.
Rain threatened as the New Zealand V8s lined up for their first 14-lap race. McIntyre was away cleanly while Fogg lost his second place after a bold move from David Besnard who started in third. As the 29-car strong field completed the first few laps on their specified Dunlop racing slicks, steady rain started.
Despite increasingly cautious driving, Besnard, Fogg and others slipped and slid while Paul Radisich navigated the ever-wetter circuit with the expertise born of experience to put the HPM Ford into second place.
Besnard and Radisich made contact at one point, then Fogg spun after bouncing awkward through the high kerbs of the chicane. Several drivers made contact with the circuit's concrete barriers with varying degrees of intensity before officials declared the race finished after only six of the planned 14 laps. The wet conditions made racing on slicks too dangerous and schedule requirements meant there was insufficient time to allow teams to change the cars onto the Dunlop wet racing tyres.
McIntyre was declared the winner; Radisich was second with Besnard, Andy Booth and Luke Youlden rounding out the top five.
Besnard completed the fastest lap during the early part of the race, his time of 1:36.8535 earning him the first official lap record on the Hamilton circuit for the New Zealand V8 class and pole position for the day's second race. Jack Perkins, the 21-year-old son of legendary Australian touring car champion Larry Perkins, was racing in the New Zealand V8s for the first time and bought the Meguiars Holden home in 17th after qualifying in 14th.
For race two Besnard had Radisich beside him on the front row of the grid as starting positions are determined by the fastest lap time each driver set in race one.
Clark Proctor lined up in third and Kayne Scott in fourth after what had been a euphemistically-challenging weekend. Scott, a former New Zealand V8 champion now also races for Team Kiwi Racing in the V8 Supercars where his qualifying opportunities were ruined by an air-box intake problem that necessitated an engine change.
Having made it through to the top ten in the New Zealand V8 qualifying later on Friday afternoon, Scott's Fujitsu Ford suffered a gearbox failure so he was undoubtedly pleased to have finished the first race with a relatively competitive time with which to start race two. McIntyre started in fifth.
Weather conditions were fine and dry for the early afternoon race. Besnard cleared the start-finish line with Proctor muscling through on Radisich to snatch second place and McIntyre passing Scott to take fourth as the leaders headed around the first right-hander.
The second time through the back-straight chicane, McIntyre took an off-centre line which gave him a better approach into the next right-hander to pass Proctor. McIntyre then tackled and passed Besnard with a slingshot manoeuvre on the start-finish straight. Proctor successfully fended off a determined attack from Fogg and put together a well-engineered pass on Besnard to take second place.
Behind McIntyre and Proctor, Besnard's car appeared to fade, allowing Fogg, Scott and Radisich to run in the top five for several laps while, behind them, Andy Booth then Andrew Porter retired to the pits, as did Inky Tulloch after an apparently misjudged pass through the chicane tyres which damaged his car.
Just three laps to go, Fogg again attacked Proctor and, with a deft move, took second place to follow McIntyre passed the chequered flag. Scott was fourth, Radisich fifth with Paul Manuell the best of the Holden drivers in sixth. Dean Perkins , Andrew Anderson , Paul Pedersen and Tim Edgell rounded out the top ten, while Besnard dropped to finish 17th after a flat tyre forced a pit stop.
The New Zealand V8s contest one more race tomorrow, another non-championship trophy race as part of the inaugural Hamilton 400 V8 Supercar event. Starting order for the 20-lapper is decided by totalling the points earned in the first two races. This puts maximum points-earner McIntyre on pole, Radisich beside him on the front row and Proctor and Manuell third and fourth.
