Sim Racing NZ Rundown April 2012

SIMRACING NZ

RUNDOWN MONTHLY SIM RACING PUBLICATION

ISSUE 1 - APRIL 2012

NASCAR

CHAMPION

CROWNED PLUS :

GOFAST SUPERSTOCKS + MIDGET SUPER SERIES

CREDITS EDITOR

Mitch Keys

WRITERS

Jamie Hall Mitch Keys

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Jamie Hall Mitch Keys

SRNZ CREW CHIEF’S

SRNZ PIT CREW

CONTENT

Daniel Huia Hayden Kirk Jamie Hall Peter May Anton Bowen Ayrton Smith Matthew Pluck Mitch Keys Tony Drake Nick Eichler Vaughn Hutton

VHR Racing Kiwi Dirt Sim Racing Dirt Late Model Sim Kiwi Sim Racing Boz Racing Image Space Incorporated

PROMO POSTER

K Brown Designs - V8s

CONTENTS

01 05 07 11 15 19 23 27 31 33 35

SUPERCHEAP SWEEP

Midget Super Series Round 2

THE MAGIC MAN TAKES VICTORY AT LASALLE Midget Super Series Round 3

HARDING HAULS TO CROWN POINT WIN Midget Super Series Round 4

SNEAKY SMITHERS

Midget Super Series Round 5

TOO TOUGH TO TAME

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Round 4

NASCAR SHORT TRACKIN’

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Round 5

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Round 6

PLUCK WINS RAY CHANNING MEMORIAL Go Fast Superstocks Round 5

GREEKS WINDY CITY SUCCESS Go Fast Superstocks Round 6

HOMETOWN HERO

Go Fast Superstocks Round 7

DUAL-TITLE SWEEP FOR PEAT Go Fast Superstocks Round 8

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

SKIN OF THE MONTH

EVENT SPOTLIGHT

Words: Mitch Keys Photography: Mitch Keys

SUPERCHE

SWEEP

EAP

MIDGETS

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MIDGETS

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hirty-four drivers rolled into the pits on Sunday Night to race at the Fairbury Speedway in Fairbury, Illinois. It was Josh Harm turning the quickest lap in timetrials with a 14.709, followed by Beau Breunig(14.837) and Mitch Watts(14.959). With the field split into 3 groups, each driver would have 2 heats to race his way into the Amain. t the conclusion of the 6 heat races, it was Josh Harm on top of the points with wins in both of his heat races. This would set Harmy off pole for the all important 40-lap Amain event. To his outside on the front row it was Ryan Flaten, with Adam Elby and Christopher Bell lining up on the second row.

This meant that the front two rows were locked out with Internationals! When the green flag dropped, Ryan Flaten made a great start and took the lead.

It only took Josh Harm six laps to catch and pass the American, and then checkout on the field.

Running third was Christopher Bell, who had the low side dialed in and was making progress on Flaten.

FAIRBURY

Christopher Bell’s hard work would quickly be unwound as he made unfortunate contact with a lap car. This would move Adam Elby into the 3rd spot, who was in a fierce battle with Smithers.

Mid race it was Josh Harm with a substantial lead over the field, with Ryan Flaten fading fast. Flaten’s tyre was done, and Elby, Smithers and Mitch Keys soon passed him. Mitch Keys, who started in 6th started making his moves, getting by Smithers, and then by Elby which would put him in 2nd, with 10laps to go. Smithers and Elby continued to battle, until Elby got up in the fence and flipped spectacularly. Josh Harm would end up taking the checkers, followed by Mitch Keys and Christopher Bell.

A-Main Results: 1st Josh Harm 2nd Mitch Keys 3rd Christopher Bell 4th Smithers 164 5th Adam Elby 6th Mitch Watts 7th Khan Hema 8th Bryce Harding 9th Mitch Harris 10th Max Stambaugh

Mitch Harris throws a slider on Bryce Harding 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 Harm works through lap traffic

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MIDGETS

24 Midgets started in the 30lap A-Main

Adam Elby goes for a ride late in the A-Main WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

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Words: Mitch Keys Photography: Mitch Keys

LaSalle Speedway was next on tap for the SRNZ Midget Super Series, presented by Go Fast Energy Drinks. The tight bullring proved good racing though out the night with two groove racing right throughout the field.

The quickest man in Time trials was Mitch Keys.

Keys went out late, and set down a 12.857 lap time, 0.075 quicker than TJ Hartman who turned a 12.931. Third quick was Smithers(12.966), Daniel Huia(12.984) and Matthew Pluck(12.988).

Thirty cars signed into the event, which means for the third round in a row, the field would be split into three groups. Each driver would have two heat races to qualify for the 24 car

main event. Every point would count as the field was stacked with talent head to toe.

At the conclusion of the heat races, topping the points chart was TJ Hartman. Following Hartman was Christopher Bell, wildcard Daniel Huia and the ever quick Smithers.

Forty laps was the distance, and at the drop of the green flag it was Hartman and Bell going at it. Bell got the early advantage snatching the lead for the first 10 or so laps. As Hartman was working over Bell, Huia closed in and posed a real threat to take the led. The three got into a dog fight, with Hartman getting the last laugh.

With laps winding down Hartman had broken away and pulled a small gap over Huia and Bell. Mitch Keys had now worked past Beau Breunig and had slotted into the 4th spot, but was well out of touch from the leaders. Sitting 5th was Breunig and in 6th Patrick Jeffries.

At the Checkers it was Hartman winning in dominant fashion over Christopher Bell and Daniel Huia who put in a fantastic performance to get his first ever top 3 in a midget! Rounding out the top 5 was Mitch Keys and Beau Breunig.

LA SALLE

MIDGETS

A-Main Results: 1st TJ Hartman 2nd Christopher Bell 3rd Daniel Huia 4th Mitch Keys 5th Beau Breunig 6th Patrick Jeffries 7th Adam Elby 8th Matthew Pluck 9th Smithers 10th Michael Bulliman

50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41

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Words: Mitch Keys

Photography: Mitch Keys

HARDING HA

TO CR OWN POIN

The kiw i beats home h of the S ard cha RNZ M rging A idget S me uper S eries, p rican duo to ta resente d by G ke o Fa

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MIDGETS

AULS

NT W IN

e out R o ast Spo und 4 rts

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MIDGETS Round 4 of the Midget Super Series presented

by Go Fast was held at the Crown Point Speedway. Twenty-four midgets lined the pits, ready to do battle on the wide and fast track.

It was TJ Hartman topping the time sheets in qualifying laying down a blisteringly quick 12.560 lap. Following Hartman was James Selwyn(12.647), Hayden Kirk(12.669), Christopher Bell(12.670) and Smithers rounding out the top 5 with a 12.694.

The heat races then consisted of an odds/ evens split running 10 laps in distance, with the second set of heats being reverse grid of the heat 1 results.

On top of the points after the two heat races was Bryce Harding. The kiwi had a set of solid heats, and in turn started out of pole for the main event. Alongside Harding was Christopher Bell, with Hayden Kirk and Mitch Keys filling row 2.

The thirty lap main event got off to a thundering start with cars flying everywhere.

Mitch Keys received the short straw and got shoved up the racetrack and into the fence.

Luckily he kept it on all fours, however he was now dead last. Out front it was Christopher Bell setting the pace early, with Bryce Harding

Bryce Harding on his way to victory

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firmly in his sights. Hartman was making his way forward slowly after a bad run in the heats.

Mid race, tempers were flaring. There was a lot more taking, than giving and drivers were taking it upon themselves to get even. It was Bryce Harding out front, racing with a level head and putting down consistent laps.

As the race drew to a close, races heated up all over the track. Hayden Kirk and Mitch Keys were exchanging sliders for the 4th spot, and Hartman had worked past Smithers. By race end Bryce Harding won comfortably over TJ Hartmn, then Smithers, Hayden Kirk and Mitch Keys rounding out the top 5.

The next round of the 2012 Midget Super Series presented by Go Fast is set to be held at the famed Belleville High Banks. This track is wide and fast, which will promise some of the most exciting racing to date. After Belleville the series takes a week off, and then returns Sunday April 1st at the Boone Speedway.

Thanks to Go Fast Energy Drinks, the winner of the series will receive 12 Cans of Go Fast, and in addition to that a randomly selected driver who competes in at least 7 rounds will also go into the draw! Thanks Go Fast!

MIDGETS

Michael Bulliman (78) was quick all night, but got taken out early in the main event

CROWN POINT

Smithers and Selwyn battle in the A-Main

A-Main Results: 1st Bryce Harding 2nd TJ Hartman 3rd Smithers 164 4th Hayden Kirk 5th Mitch Keys 6th Matthew Pluck 7th Kevin J Holley 8th Christopher Bell 9th Jonathan Mason 10th Khan Hema

50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41

Schedule: 19th Feb Lawrenceburg 26th Feb Fairbury 4th March LaSalle Speedway 11th March Crown Point 18th March Belleville 1st April Boone Speedway 8st April Speedway City 15th April Kihikihi Speedway WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

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SNEAKY

SMITHER Smithers picks up first win at famed

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MIDGETS

RS half mile

WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

Words: Mitch Keys

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Photography: Mitch Keys

MIDGETS Twenty-two midgets lined the pits for round 5 of the Midget Super Series presented by Go Fast. The fastest track on the schedule promised some of the closest racing to date, and keep all the drivers on the edge of their seat.

Mitch Keys timed in fastest with a 16.409 second lap, who was then followed by Craig Wire(16.448), Nick Bell-May(16.464), Patrick Jeffries(16.524) and rounding out the top 5, Michael Bulliman with a 16.528.

With the absence of series leader Christopher Bell, this was a prime opportunity for the series contenders to make up ground on the American. The field was split into two groups, and at the completion of the heat races it was Mitch Keys highest on points picking up the win on both occasions. Second on points was Craig Wire, then Matt Sherlock and Mathew Greeks.

closed as Marty hit a rut and got a little out of shape. This would indeed decide the race as Smithers shot to the inside and stole the win.

Followed home in third was Josh Humble, then Matthew Pluck and Joel Murphy. The absence of Christopher Bell has meant Mitch Keys has taken over the points lead, two points ahead of Smithers. The standings are still very close, and there are still a number of people with a realistic shot at taking home the Go Fast swag.

Next week its off to a short track, by the name of Boone Speedway. Should be some fantastic action, which will be live on DirtSimTv.

Mid way through the race and the field had spread right out, with battle packs all over the race track. The track was typical Belleville, up on the wall. However the racing was extremely close and competitive. Josh Humble was now breathing down Plucks neck, as the race wound to a close. This allowed Smithers to latch onto Keys’ bumper and engage in a mad dash to the finish.

With 2 laps to go, Mitch Keys and Smithers were neck and neck. One mistake and either one of them would end their night in spectacular fashion. Lap traffic was a factor all race, and with everyone up on the fence it was very difficult to navigate past them.

As the white flag was dropped on the field, it was Keys still leading Smithers. They were now coming up to lap Marty in the #13 and it seemed this move would decide the race.

Coming off turn 2 Keys saw an opening to the outside as Marty was running down off the wall. He went for it, however it quickly

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BELLEVILLE

It was time for the main event, thirty laps of high speed action. Mitch Keys got the jump on the field and quickly broke away and formed a half second lead. It was Smithers and Pluck fighting for 2nd as they watched Keys drive away. They soon realised they couldn’t continue to battle like they were and worked on catching the #18 car.

A-Main Results: 1st Smithers 164 2nd Mitch Keys 3rd Josh Humble 4th Matthew Pluck 5th Joel Murphy 6th Hayden Kirk 7th Nathan Clive 8th KDSR_MajorC 9th Khan Hema 10th Martyka Brandt

50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41

Schedule: 19th Feb Lawrenceburg 26th Feb Fairbury 4th March LaSalle Speedway 11th March Crown Point 18th March Belleville 1st April Boone Speedway 8st April Speedway City 15th April Kihikihi Speedway

MIDGETS

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Words: Jamie Hall

Photography: Jamie Hall

NASCAR

TOO

15

TOUGH

NASCAR

TAME

TO

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NASCAR

EGR Teammates took over the Teams Championship lead at Darlington

Sixteen engines roared into life as the formation lap begun at the 2.5 mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the NASAR Sprint Cup Series Round 3 inaugural Brickyard 150 mile race.

Hardman in the Roush Fenway Racing #99 had earned pole in the 2 lap race shuffle just moments before, half a second ahead of #42 Augustine Sanson.

The series leader and one half of the teams’ championship leaders, TJ Hartman, was nowhere to be seen. This was good news for Sanson and Jamie Hall of Earnhardt / Ganassi Racing who were sitting in second in the teams’ championship before the race, behind Mitch Keys and Hartman of Joe Gibbs Racing.

However, this advantage hit the wall hard on just lap sixteen in the form of Hall departing from second in one of the most visually spectacular incidents of the race. Taking out the race

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leader, Hardman, with him, Hall clashed with the turn 2 wall then barrel rolled across the track and into the infield wall coming to a permanent rest minus the better part of a car.

In a race plagued with yellow flags, just 6 managed to complete the race and impressively all on the same lap. Augustine Sanson took out the Brickyard 150 and a jump up the series table into second.

Hardman took over the series lead with a fourth placing and the absent former series leader TJ Hartman dropped down to third. The teams’ championship top three remained the same as it was before the round with Joe Gibbs Racing at the top followed by Earnhadt / Ganassi Racing then Roush Fenway Racing who had closed the gap significantly by being the only team of the top three with two finishers.

Round 4 Results: 1st Mitch Keys 2nd Augustine Sanson 3rd Hayden Kirk 4th Hardman 5th The Game 6th SRNZ_4finga 7th Lucas39 8th StormerNZ 9th Smithers 164 10th Jason Roach

Championship Points: 1st Hardman 2nd Augustine Sanson 3rd Mitch Keys 4th SRNZ_4finga 5th The Game 6th TJ Hartman 7th Smithers 164 8th Hayden Kirk 9th spangeR 10th Lucas39

Next round:

Round 5 @ Bristol

77 74 70 68 67 61 59 40 23 0 238 237 214 191 179 152 116 112 110 89

NASCAR

Mitch Keys on his way to winning Round 6

StormerNZ flips violently in turns 3&4 WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

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Words: Jamie Hall

NASCAR

Photography: Jamie Hall

NASCA NASCAR SHORT

SHORT

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NASCAR

AR R

TRACKIN’

T TRACK WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

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NASCAR The half mile Bristol Motor Speedway hosted the last sprint round of the series in which race 1 and race 2 were 20 laps and the third race was 40 laps. Race 1 was in order of private qualifying fastest at front and then race 2 was a reverse of the qualifying order. To finish off the night, race 3 was in order of lowest to highest on points from the previous two races.

Tarmac talent Kyle George made his first appearance in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Wood Brothers Racing and dominated race 1 and race 3 with both the fastest lap times and the race wins. George ended the round in second, just two points behind Hayden Kirk after a huge crash in lap 4 race 2 with a parked Peter May sent George flying across the track surface then over the inside wall and into pit lane. After limping to a much needed pit stop for repairs, George eventually finished the race in 8th to put valuable points on the board. The previous weeks round winner, Mitch Keys, was again plagued with bad luck seen earlier in the series, picking up a sixth and first only to fail to finish the 40 lapper due to connection issues after leading Kyle George up to lap 35.

On the series table, Augustine Sanson took the lead after former leader Hardman failed to participate in the first two races. This allowed Mitch Keys in third to shorten the gap down to just 1 point followed by Peter May and Jamie Hall. Earnhadt / Ganassi Racing continued to lead the Teams Championship but were closely followed by late round challengers Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Petty Motorsport. Just one round remained and, hosted by the 2.5 mile Daytona International Speedway tri-oval, it doubled as the Daytona 300. As an extra incentive, the longest ever Sim Racing New Zealand race also offered quadruple points, a factor surely to shake things up at the pointy end of the field of both the series and teams championship.

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Kyle George destroys the Wood Brothers #21 after m

making contact with 4Finga in the RPM #43

NASCAR

RPM Teammates in full force in Bristol

Round 5 Results: 1st Hayden Kirk 2nd Kyle George 3rd Mathew Greeks 4th Gray 5th Augustine Sanson 6th James Selwyn 7th Mitch Keys 8th SRNZ_4finga 9th Jason Roach 10th The Game

Championship Points: 1st Augustine Sanson 2nd Hardman 3rd Mitch Keys 4th SRNZ_4finga 5th The Game 6th Hayden Kirk 7th TJ Hartman 8th Smithers 164 9th Gray 10th spangeR

77 74 70 68 67 61 59 40 40 38 285 262 261 233 217 185 152 116 112 110

Next round:

Round 6 @ Daytona WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

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NASCAR

SURVIVAL of the FITTES Words: Jamie Hall Photography: Jamie Hall

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L ST

NASCAR

The Daytona 300 was a race of attrition, with all but two cars blowing up before the finish. Daytona was also the setting for the series finale, and with quadruple points up for grabs, who was going to take out the championship?

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NASCAR Just 9 drivers competed in the Daytona 300 at the 2.5 mile Daytona International Speedway, Sim Racing New Zealand’s longest race ever, significantly down on the previous round attendance average.

The sixth and final round of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series started off with a private qualifying session with drivers allocated two laps to set their lap time followed by a 3 lap shuffle with grids being in order of fastest qualifier at the front. The finishing order of the 3 lap shuffle would then determine the Daytona 300 grids. It was the previous rounds two fastest qualifiers again at the top with Kyle George setting 50.1333 followed

by Mitch Keys with 50.1374. Despite the remainder of the field being significantly distant from these times, the field remained grouped together through out the 3 lap shuffle and it was slowest qualifier Jamie Hall who made a last lap move from second from the back to take the win. Just behind was Kyle George barely ahead in a side by side finish with Augustine Sanson. So it was Hall sharing the front row with George for the grid of the 300 mile race.

In contrast to the only other endurance round of the series, the round 3 Brickyard 150 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the yellow flag was raised just two times through out the 300 mile race. Drivers were instead faced with mechanical problems and just 3 drivers managed to complete the race.

After James Selwyn and Hardman dropped out of the race with mechanical issues on lap 61, just 3 of the 9 starters remained, being Mitch Keys and Jamie Hall on the lead lap followed by Mathew Greeks a lap down.

An early mistake by Hall caused the other two drivers to disappear in to the distance, the pair eventually completing a full lap over Hall after 20 laps. This time, Hall hooked on to pack leader Greeks only for the latter to clash with the wall half a lap later and causing the second yellow flag raising. This resulted in Hall closing the gap created by Keys on the safety car lap and the end of Mathew Greeks race as he blew his engine when leaving pit lane. The remaining 36 laps once the green flag dropped were the hosts of a backwards and forwards duel between Hall and Keys with the latter eventually taking the race win and the 2012 Daytona 300 by 0.123 seconds.

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With this round being the only round to include non-finishers in the results, Daytona 300 sixth placer Sanson took the series win 4 points ahead of Keys and former series leader Hardman followed in third overall.

Earnhadt / Ganassi Racing topped the teams championship table with Sansons series win combined with Halls 4th placing.

Keys and Greeks earnt Joe Gibbs Racing a second overall and further down the table in third was Roush Fenway Racing.

NASCAR returns to Sim Racing New Zealand mid year after the completion of both the V8 Supercar and Toyota Racing series.

Daytona 300: 1st Mitch Keys 104 2nd The Game 100 3rd Mathew Greeks 96 4th James Selwyn 92 5th Hardman 88 6th Augustine Sanson 84 7th Dayne Powell 80 8th Kyle George 76 9th Daniel Huia 72 10th Jeff Gordon 0

Final Championship Points: 1st Augustine Sanson 369 2nd Mitch Keys 365 3rd Hardman 350 4th The Game 317 5th SRNZ_4finga 233 6th Hayden Kirk 185 7th Mathew Greeks 160 8th TJ Hartman 152 9th Kyle George 147 10th James Selwyn 139 11th Smithers 164 116 12th Gray 112 13th Spangler 110 14th Jason Roach 110 15th Daniel Huia 109

NASCAR

Mathew Greeks spins off Jamie Hall’s bumper

Disappointment for Greeks as he catches fire on pit lane, finishing his race

Keys takes the win, but comes up short in the Championship Chase WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

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n i n n a h C y Ra S E R O C S K C U L P

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SUPERSTOCKS

l a i r o m e M Y R g n O T C I V Words: Jamie Hall

Photography: Jamie Hall WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM

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SUPERSTOCKS 34 drivers turned up to Paradise Valley Raceway for the Ray Channing Memorial/ Bay of Plenty Championship. Following the salute of the late Ray Channing who perished two weeks before in real life racing at Huntly Speedway, the night kicked off with the Kiwi Stockcar Challenge which had 89r Ray Channing on pole. Pressure was on with just the top 10 of the 21 strong grid joining the top 10 of the North Island Championship Series for the Bay of Plenty Championship.

Amongst those looking to qualify were the likes of 2nz Hayden Kirk and 3nz Jamie Hall.

Kirk maintained his position from a grid 4 start only to be caught up in lapped traffic with just 3 laps to go and dropping down to 13th. 3nz Hall started further down the field on grid 8 and come turn 1, was at the very back in 21st position. Hall survived multiple race ending attempts by the driver of his second car, John Nikora, while advancing through the field and broke in to the top 10 with just over 2 laps to go, finishing in 7th. At the front end, 31p Kieren Johansen took the race win from grid 14 with a two second lead over 9h Kyle George.

Into race 1 and 2009 & 2011 Bay of Plenty Champion 87r Shane Gray was removed from the race by former team mate Harley Robb on lap 4 while 3nz Hall retired to the infield after mid race damage dealt by 59g Mathew Greeks and 9h George. 48g Vaughn Hutton took the race win from grid 1 ahead of 51n Matt Pluck. 46w Keegan Levien won race 2 from grid 3 which put him second equal on points with 55g Craig Wire and 3 points behind leader 51n Pluck who got all the way up to 3rd from grid 18. Race 3 was complete destruction for some while others survived untouched.

Any hopes 46w Levien and 55g Wire had of winning the championship and qualifying for the Final were smashed to multiple pieces through the efforts of the tank commander 311a Nick Bell-May in dispatching both drivers from the race. 48g Vaughn Hutton earned another win to boost him up 4 placings and in to third overall and 8g Bryce Harding finished second in both the race and championship.

51n Pluck went mostly untouched in race 3 to record a 4th placing and become the 2012 Bay of Plenty Champion and thus qualify for the Go Fast New Zealand Championship Series Final in May.

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SUPERSTOCKS

WWW.GOFASTSPORTS.CO.NZ

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GREEK'S WINDY The 35-strong Kiwi Superstock contingent were in Te Marua for round 6 of the Go Fast New Zealand Championship Series and the Wellington Championship with the round also marking the start of the second half of the North Island Championship Series. 2012 Waikato Champion 46n Logan Peat took the Kiwi Stockcar Challenge race win just ahead of 7g Liam Clayton and 9h Kyle

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George. Track size allowed all drivers to transfer through to the main event, the Wellington Championship. Of these three, only 9h George was in the hunt for the championship win, heading into race 3 of the champs with 47 points and a race 2 win. Also on 47 points was defending and sole Wellington champion so far, 74r Harley Robb. Sitting in third on 44 points was 391gb Ayrton Smith,

the 2011 winner of multiple series and events but yet to win anything in the 2012 season.

Eight drivers failed to complete the final race including a few prominent drivers. 46n Peat put 74r Robb on to the wall top only to end up in the same spot a couple of laps later in a failed attempt on 9h George.

391gb Smith was on the receiving end of a 2nz Hayden Kirk bunt on 16c Azza Humble.

SUPERSTOCKS Words: Jamie Hall Photography: Jamie Hall

CITY SUCCESS 8g Bryce Harding, although further down the table on Wellington Championship points, was chasing a North Island Championship Series win only to be eliminated by rookie 54w Blake Ellett in the drivers first run of the season.

48g Hutton, North Island series leader heading in to the round, ended the poor night with race ending damage dealt by 46h Josh Humble.

Emerging from this carnage was 59g Mathew Greeks with a 66 point total earning him the 2012 Wellington Championship and a spot in the Go Fast New Zealand Championship Series Final. 9h George overcome the attention of several drivers for a 62 point second placing and 2nz Kirk clocked in with 60 points for third. Race winner 55g Craig Wire was further down the table on 38 points.

On series points, 8g Harding took the North Island Championship Series lead followed by 59g Greeks and 48g Hutton. The first nonGisborne car, GB driver Rich24 held fourth while former leader 51n Pluck rounded out the top 5. The only driver to complete all eight races of the Kiwi Stockcar Challenge so far, 46h Humble, topped the KSC points with a decent gap over 115w.

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Bryce Harding wins the Gisborne Championship in Round 7 of the Go Fast New Zealand Superstock Series. The countries top drivers were on hand to compete for the coveted prize, which is the Gisbourne Championship.

Defending Gisborne champion Harley Robb had a poor night throughout, failing to successfully defend his title as 35 drivers took to the track for the Go Fast New Zealand Championship Series Round 7 and the Gisborne Championship. The championship also formed one half of the East Coast Championship, won by Ayrton Smith last season, with the second half being the Hawke’s

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Bay Championship at Meeanee the following week. Waikato and Taranaki Champion Logan Peat topped qualifying with the only sub-16 second time of 15.9510. This put him on pole for the Kiwi Stockcar Challenge in which he easily took the race win from 23 others and set the fastest lap of the race with a 16.0810, very close to the lap record setting 16.051

SUPERSTOCKS

Words: Jamie Hall

by Liam Clayton at the same championship in 10th April 2011. 31p Kieren Johansen came home in second from grid 4 followed by 9h Kyle George who started on grid 2.

Race 1 of the Gisborne Championship saw the top ten of the North Island Championship Series join the field, being ineligible to race in the Kiwi Stockcar Challenge, and surprisingly only two drivers failed to finish the race. 46n Peat was again on pole, again the race winner, and again recording the fastest lap of the race but this time he beat the 2011 Clayton lap record with a 16.0035. 8g Bryce Harding crossed the line in second from grid 4 and former lap record holder 7g Liam Clayton rounded out the top three from a grid 3 start. Race 2 picked up three casualties as 38a Blake Johnson raced away to a win from grid 1. 8g Harding earned another second with a big drive from grid 20 followed by 59g Mathew Greeks who came all the way from grid 29. So looking at points heading into race 3, 8g Harding was in first with 50 points followed by 46n Peat on 47, and 6v Matt Sherlock with 43 points.

Photography: Jamie Hall

Just three drivers failed to finish the final and mostly clean third race of the Gisborne Championship. 8g Harding and 46n Peat slipped through the field mostly unopposed while 6v Sherlock had 7g Clayton latched on multiple times through out the race. 6v Sherlock successfully manoeuvred to a race win from grid 11. 24gb Rich24 placed in second after starting on grid 1 and 8g Harding reached third from grid 28 to top the table with 74 points.

46n Peat finished up with 69 points, tied with 6v Sherlock. In the run-off, Sherlock got the jump from pole and took a slow approach, holding up Peat going in to the first corner and down the back straight only to be taken to the turn 3 wall by Peat. Peat took the lead and assumed blocking mode only to be facing backwards come lap 3 on the back straight after putting Sherlock into the wall backfired.

Peat dropped back to wait for Sherlock but jabs in the last half lap were not enough to prevent Sherlock coming home for the win.

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DUAL-TITLE SWEEP FOR

HAWKES BAY PLAYS HOST TO GOFAST SUPER Words: Jamie Hall

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Photography: Jamie Hall

SUPERSTOCKS

PEAT

RSTOCKS ROUND 8

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Round 8 of the Go Fast New Zealand Championship Series was at the home track of 84b Corey Blunsdon, Meeanee. 31 drivers were at the track to contest the Hawke’s Bay Championship and also the second half of the East Coast Championship with Gisborne hosting the first half last week. Despite being yet to win an event and thus qualify for the Final in May, Blunsdon was in mostly good form leading up to the night with previous rounds championship placings including two seconds, a fourth, and a fifth. However, championship win hopes were dashed on just lap 2 of the opening race. Blunsdon moved up to 10th from a grid 15 start only to move out of the race line by himself and come to a halt by the wall down the back straight. By the time he fired the 84b car back up he was a lap down in 29th. A few passes along with other drivers withdrawing from race resulted in Blunsdon finishing the race in 21st. He followed up with a 10th and a 5th in the second and third race to place 4th in the East Coast Championship and 10th in the Hawkes Bay Championship.

Starting off the night was the Kiwi Stockcar Challenge which is a series with one race at each track for those that are not in the top 10 of the North Island Championship Series. 9h Kyle George started on grid 5 and took the lead with just over a lap to go and eventually

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the win as those ahead of him succumbed to lapped traffic. 46h Josh Humble, the Challenge leader, gained two places from a grid 8 start to retain the series lead. 46n Logan Peat took race 1 of the Hawke’s Bay Championship ahead of 9h George in a smooth run from pole. 59g Mathew Greeks placed 5th from grid 21 as well as 55g Craig Wire reaching 6th from grid 27.

Defending HB and EC champion 391gb Ayrton Smith followed up his race 1 DNF by capturing the second race win from grid 11, half a second ahead of 46n Peat coming from grid 14. 9h George again featured at the top by placing third. Top 3 on Hawke’s Bay Championship points heading into race 3 were 46n Peat on 51 points, 9h George on 49, and 74r Harley Robb on 45.

46n Peat was on the back row of a 30 strong field but by the end of the opening lap, was up to 18th. Progress slowed down after this with the attention of several drivers on his way to 13th.

This was enough points for Peat to gain both the Hawke’s Bay Championship and the East Coast Championship. 9h George was jammed in to the middle of the pack on the grid and by the time he reached turn 2, had been on the receiving end of blocks by three different drivers including a crippling hit by 661a Nick Bell-may. This damage left George open to lunges through out the remainder of the race

by other drivers and resulted in George failing to finish the race, placing 6th in the HB champs, and 7th in the EC champs. 74r Robb had a good start with 8 passes from grid 18 by lap 5 only to collide with a parked 22n Roydon Winstanley. He worked his way back up the order to finish 14th after surviving the efforts of those out to stop him.

SUPERSTOCKS

24gb Rich24 benefited from the lack of major attention to finish second in the race for a points haul earning him second in the Hawke’s Bay Championship and third in the East Coast Championship.

Likewise, 115w Sam Gray won the race for a third in the Hawke’s Bay Championship after overcoming 74r Robb in a run-off. 8g Bryce Harding retains the North Island Championship series lead followed by 59g Mathew Greeks and 24gb Rich24.

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