Motorsport: Team Kiwi puts old Holden back on track for Darwin

By BOB PEARCE

Team Kiwi has "unretired" its original Holden Commodore for this weekend's Darwin round of the Australian V8 Supercar series.

The car, which looks like having more farewell tours around Australia than the Seekers, was supposed to have run its last race at the previous Perth round. But the newer-spec VX model due to replace it is not ready.

The old car, whose best results were 11th in the Bathurst 1000 and third in a Canberra street race, came back into service this season when Team Kiwi's relationship with Gary Rogers Motorsport broke down.

Now the Auckland-based team is doing all its development in-house and driver Craig Baird will have to battle on in the oldest car in the championship until the Queensland round next month.

Team principal David John says the "new" car, which the team have owned for some time, will have a new engine package and the latest developments of the VX, which have seen it more than competitive with the latest VY models introduced this year.

He says the team should have a VY model available before the end of the season, but its introduction will depend on its competitiveness against the uprated VX.

John defends the decision to break with Gary Rogers, noting that, while Team Kiwi is a disappointing 27th in the championship, Rogers' second car, in the hands of Jamie Whincup, is 32nd.

The Darwin round, notorious for the extreme temperatures which the drivers and cars endure, will consist of a 17-lap sprint on Saturday and two 35-lap races on Sunday.

The Hidden Valley track with its 1.1km main straight has provided wins for Ford and Holden since it came into the championship. Jason Bright in a Brock Holden leads the title race with 851 points from Steven Richards (Perkins Holden) on 834, Marcos Ambrose (Stone Brothers Ford) on 783 and Kiwi Greg Murphy (Kmart Holden) on 779.

* * *

The New Zealand V8s, which have provided local motorsport with its most appealing premier national championship in years, will make two visits to Pukekohe this season.

Last season, after providing support races for the Australian V8 Supercars in November, the local drivers were missing from the summer series meeting in January.

But this summer they will include this date in the championship, sharing the billing with the trucks.

The 500km endurance race at Ruapuna in October will not be part of the championship. But the organisers are working on ensuring there is television coverage.

The October 19 date poses a problem for Television One because of rugby commitments, but TV3 is keen to step in.

Also still to be settled are parity issues between the Fords and the Holdens. Ford was perceived to have a power advantage last season. The rules of the class aim at equality.

The first round will be the Supercar meeting at Pukekohe on November 9, 10 and 11. Then follow Timaru on January 10-11, Teretonga on January 17-18, Manfeild on January 31-February 1, Pukekohe on February 14-15, Taupo on March 20-21 and Manfeild on March 27-28.

* * *

New Zealand's Rotax Max KartSport Challenge has unearthed another new driving talent - young Auckland driver Paul Cameron.

He dominated the third round of the series at the Shell Helix Raceway at Auckland's Rosebank Domain.

The 19-year-old landscaper topped the time sheets in both qualifying sessions and won all five races from pole position, including the winner-takes-all final from fellow Aucklanders Sean Levy, John Kelly and Michael Kinsman.

Cameron is the third driver in as many rounds of the 2003 Challenge - an internationally recognised control engine class in which non-professional drivers compete for a chance for a trip to an annual world final - to dominate a meeting.

Bradley Tyrrell, a Tokoroa 15-year-old, caused a sensation when he won the first round at Hamilton's Power Beat Raceway in early March, then former New Zealand representative Tony Chambers completed a clean-sweep at Palmerston North at the second round three weeks later.

Chambers shadowed Cameron in the first qualifying session on Saturday afternoon and carded a 2-7-3 run through the heats before finishing second in the pre-final. Then came an agonising 18th in the final after he suffered an engine problem on the last lap while holding second place.

Tyrrell, who beat Chambers to the line in the first heat, finished second behind Cameron in the second, then third behind Cameron and Chambers in the third only to fade to fourth in the pre-final as his kart's engine lost power.

The 15-year-old was back with his second engine for the final, only to be bumped off the track by a rival in jostling for position in the first laps.

* * *

The defending champion, Robert Barth, of Germany, won the first round of this year's long-track speedway championship in his home country.

Barth leads Kelvin Tatum (Britain), the 2000 champion, by five points, with Gerd Riss (Germany), the 2001 champion, third a further two points behind.

The championship moves to Muhldorf, Germany, for round two this weekend. The sixth and final round is in New Plymouth on November 1.

* * *

Richard Burns retains his lead in the world rally championship, despite retiring his Peugeot from the Rally of Cyprus after engine failure.

The Englishman is one point ahead of Spaniard Carlos Sainz, who was fifth in Cyprus in a Citroen, more than five minutes behind winner Petter Solberg in a Subaru.

Defending world champion Marcus Gronholm, who failed to finish, remains third in the championship, one point ahead of Solberg.