SIMRACING NZ
MONTHLY SIM RACING PUBLICATION
HARDING JR NEW SUPERSTOCK
ISSUE 3 - JUNE 2012
1
NZ
PLUS : V8 SUPERCARS + FORMULA 1 + TEAMS NATIONALS
ROUND 1 / JUNE 9 - VOLUSIA RACEWAY PARK ROUND 2 / JUNE 16 - 34 RACEWAY PARK ROUND 3 / JUNE 23 - FARMER CITY ROUND 4 / JUNE 30 - PERTH MOTORPLEX ROUND 5 / JULY 7 - THUNDER VALLEY ROUND 6 / JULY 14 - WILLIAMS GROVE ROUND 7 / JULY 21 - CHARLOTTE ROUND 8 / JULY 28 - KNOXVILLE
FOR MORE INFO, PLEASE VISIT
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CREDITS EDITOR
Mitch Keys
WRITERS
Jamie Hall Matthew Pluck Mitch Keys Hayden Kirk
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Jamie Hall Mitch Keys Hayden Kirk
SRNZ CREW CHIEFS
Daniel Huia Hayden Kirk Jamie Hall Mitch Keys Peter May
SRNZ PIT CREW
Anton Bowen Ayrton Smith Matthew Pluck Tony Drake Nick Eichler Vaughn Hutton
CARS/TRACKS BY
Kiwi Dirt Sim Racing Dirt Late Model Sim Dirtshop Creations Inc Kiwi Sim Racing Boz Racing ORSM Image Space Incorporated
SUPPORTED BY
Castrol Edge Go Fast Energy Drink SkyDiveZone
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SERIES SPOTLIGHT
CONTENTS 01 07 09 13 15 19 23 25 29 33 37 41 45
HARDING STRIKES GOLD IN HUNTLY
Go Fast New Zealand Championship Series Final
ACES SMOKE OUTLAW GUNNERS SkyDiveZone Teams Nationals
BELL-MAY WINS BELLE VUE OPENER Royal Rampage Round 1
TAIT’S RACING RIG That’s My Rig
STEADY SCOTT
V8 Supercars Round 5
BATHURST BRAWL
V8 Supercars Round 6
THE BREAKDOWN
Go Fast V8 Supercar Championship Recap
FIVE MINUTES
With Bryce Harding
AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX Formula 1 Iconic Series Round 1
CANADIAN GRAND PRIX
Formula 1 Iconic Series Round 2
ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
Formula 1 Iconic Series Round 3
SRNZ ON THE ROAD
Racing events outside of SRNZ
JAY WAUGH WINS Where we were
G N I D R HA STRIKES all
H Words: Jamie
Photography:
Jamie Hall
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D L GO
Y L T N U H IN WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM
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16 drivers secured their placing in the Go Fast New Zealand Championship Series Final at some stage throughout the 14 week tour of all the available New Zealand tracks. So to top the field up to 26 was a standard three race qualifying round sending 9 more drivers through and then a repechage on Finals night in which the winner of the race would also progress. 24 drivers took to the track for the qualifying round. 21p Adam “IBNZ” Ireland collected the opening race win in a last corner pass on 311a Shaun Kingi, the current holder of multiple real life production saloon titles. Kingi followed up with the second and third race wins. Once points were tallied, there were big names on both sides of the line with 661a Nick Bell-May, shared holder of most race wins in the series, going through to the Final while 99r Mitch Keys, open wheel expert, fell slightly short in his rapid adjustment to the racing code. Those that failed to make it to the top 9 returned the following week for the repechage along with other unqualified drivers to form the 19 car field. Strong hopes in the pack were 7g Liam “Racing Hart” Clayton, 99b Tony “tonyff4” Drake, and 99r Mitch Keys. Clayton set the fastest time of 16.3246 in qualifying and so claimed pole for the single race. The start saw Clayton drop a few positions before eventually claiming the lead on lap 12 and holding on to take out the race win and go on to the Final. Finishing up behind him were Drake, 23h Blake Ellett, and Keys respectively. 8g Bryce “Harding Jr” Harding became the fourth driver to win the series when he topped points in the 2012 Go Fast New Zealand Championship Series Final. Two points behind was defending champion 1nz Cameron “Stockie Nz” Ginns who defeated 3nz Jamie “The Game” Hall in a runoff for second. Harding was in fine form throughout the series, starting off with multiple race wins in the opening rounds and then collecting the King Country
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Championship, Gisborne Championship, and North Island Championship Series. Ginns joined in the latter half of the series and qualified for the Final by winning the Canterbury Championship before also placing fourth in the South Island Championship Series. Hall came into the Final with no championship wins at all, qualifying with a second in the South Island Championship Series. 46n Logan “Buddie” Peat’s 16.2105 was the fastest lap in qualifying. The time was slightly faster than his race lap record, a 16.2225 back in February at the Waikato Championship. The qualifying order set the grids for race 1 of 3 using the SNZ championship format. Race 1 kicked off with pole sitter Peat down to third before the opening corner in a poor start, eventually finishing third. Bell-May battled through the ranks for the race win from grid eight after going back to 16th in the first lap of the race. Having failed to qualify until the qualifier round the previous week, 115w Sam Gray recorded the biggest move of the race in his drive from the
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back, grid 26, up to sixth. 3p Daniel Huia was the sole driver to fail to finish with his blocking antics throughout the race heavily damaging his car. Defending champion Ginns was the second race winner after starting from grid 22. Pole sitter Harding led the race from the start before having to slow down to avoid a spun Huia with 2 laps to go, relinquishing the lead to Ginns. Huia again earned a DNF along with 5k Taylor “StormerNZ” Patene and Ireland. Top five after these two races were Peat on 49, Ginns and 31p Kieren “Fangin-It” Johansen tied with 43, Harding 42, and Bell-May in fifth with 41. Amongst the carnage which ended the title hopes of many, Hall came through from grid 13
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for the third race win, passing soon-to-be-4nz 51n Matt “Bull” Pluck on the way. Harding finished shortly later in third from grid 25. Points leader Peat was rolled out of the race by 9h Kyle George, Johansen fell victim to connection issues, and Bell-May lost valuable points through the efforts of 46h Josh “HumbleRacing” Humble and Ireland. Points after the three races had Harding on 64 followed by Ginns and Hall tied with 62. Hall won the coin toss for the run-off and elected to start on pole. Hall adopted a defensive approach as he led until the last corner where a back straight mistake left him open for a walling from Ginns, the lead changing hands, and Ginns collecting the win moments later.
SUPERSTOCKS
WWW.GOFASTSPORTS.CO.NZ
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TEAMS After a grueling series of Superstock Teams, the Smokin Aces emerged as the new Champions in the SkyDiveZone Teams Nationals. The Aces defeated former champions The Outlaw Gunners in the final. The team of Smokin Aces consisted of 115w Sam Gray (C), 112w Kyle George (VC), 113w HoldenVaughn, 114w Mike616, 116w Stockie Nz and 6th man Mathew Greeks. Defending champions, The Outlaw Gunners consisted of 54m Dirtypig (C), 55m IBNZ (VC), 52m Tigers_Fan, 53m KamakaziNZ, and 56m HumbleRacing.
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SUPERSTOCKS
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THE KIWI SUPERSTOCKS HEADED OFF TO BELLE VUE SPEEDWAY FOR ROUND 1 OF ROYAL RAMPAGE. THE TIGHT CONFINES OF THE BRITISH BULLRING PRODUCED SOME CLOSE AND EXCITING RACING, WITH A NUMBER OF TOP DRIVERS FAILING TO QUALIFY INTO THE BIG SHOW. NICK BELL-MAY TOOK THE SPOILS FROM A CHARGING SMITHERS AND ROOKIE MITCH KEYS!
Words: Jamie Hall
Photography: Jamie Hall WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM
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691a Nick Bell-May, one of two drivers representing Auckland, led the last seven laps of the 32 lap final to attain the opening round win of the Royal Rampage at Belle Vue, UK. Despite coming out of the recent 15 week New Zealand Championship Series with no championship titles, Bell-May qualified third in his group of 23 drivers to join 11 others from his group and the second group’s top 12 in the final. The biggest lead in the final was produced by current modified and sprint car New Zealand champion 18r Mitch Keys in just his second superstock outing. However this lead soon ended as Keys clashed with spun drivers from further down the standings, eventually finishing third behind defending champion 64gb Ayrton “Smithers 164” Smith. The top three from the Go Fast New Zealand Championship Series Final two weeks earlier at Huntly failed to collect any all-important final points. 1nz Bryce “Harding Jr” Harding successfully qualified for the final but retired from the race while 11th with two laps remaining after sustaining heavy damage in a pulverising clash with 98n Michael Kemp. The Rotorua pair of 2nz Cameron “Stockie Nz” Ginns and 3nz Jamie “The Game” Hall did not progress any further than the qualifying stage.
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HP TOUCHSMART PC
THIS MONTH WE FEATURE THE RACING SETUP OF TAIT POOLE. TAIT IS A HUGE OPEN WHEEL FAN AND CAN BE FOUND RACING MIDGETS AND SPRINT CARS ONLINE MOST EVENINGS. COOL SETUP TAIT!
SPECIFICATIONS COMPUTER: HP TOUCHSMART 310” PC. ALL-INONE WIRELESS DESIGN (EVERYTHING IS BUILT INTO THE MONITOR AND NO WIRES) 1900 TIMES 900 IS THE RESOLUTION. WHEEL: LOGITECH G27 RACING WHEEL WITH PEDALS AND SHIFTER (RECENTLY UPGRADED FROM A “LOGITECH GT DRIVING FORCE”). SEAT: “AUTOSPORT” RACING SEAT. SOUND: SONY SURROUND SOUND STEREO SYSTEM WITH TWO BASS SPEAKERS UNDER THE SEAT ...JUST SO YOU CAN HEAR AND FEEL THE ROAR OF THE ENGINE
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KEYBOARD
AUDIO: SONY SPEAKERS
LOGITECH G27 WHEEL
SEAT: AUTOSPORT
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Words: Matt Pluck
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Photography: Mitch Keys
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With only two rounds left in the Go Fast V8Factor series the championship was heating up at the top of the order, with drivers staging what could be there last crack at the title. The venue in Lakeside, Queensland proved to be a tight and bumpy track that proved un-tame-able by some of the drivers with one of the highest parts collection left over after the round, and a lot of teams blowing there budget. Early practise signs showed flying Hamilton driver Kyle George setting the pace again from Australia’s Slykiwi, with series leader Bryce Harding, Matthew Pluck, Cameron Ginns and Mitch Keys chasing the minor spots. Qualifying stayed true to this, with George on pole, Slykiwi close second, Harding, Pluck, Ginns and newcomer Scott rounding out the top 6. Race one got off to a flyer with Pluck getting an early jump on the front row challenging George, but George didn’t muck around and got the lead. He quickly built a gap while Slykiwi got ahead of Pluck and started chasing George at
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the front. Series leader Harding struck trouble sending him down to the back of the field, while Scott continued to impress challenging for minor places. Pluck lost contact with the leaders but had a safe gap over the battle behind him between Keys, Kemp and Scott. George held on to his commandable lead taking out the race win, followed by Slykiwi, Pluck, then Keys edging out Kemp and Scott for the top 6. Race two was again a slow start from Kyle with Slykiwi and Pluck both getting a jump on him, however a tussle later down the track saw Pluck spun around and facing the wrong way to a full field of drivers. After the field made there way through, body panels littered the track with damage done to some drivers. Harding again got caught out unable to capitalise on the slower field while all bunched together. Meanwhile out front Slykiwi and George fought it out for the lead, with Keys, Kemp and Scott again battling it out. Quick repairs were carried out on Pluck’s
car, but proved to have been rushed as his car lost steering on the fast back straight of the track and left him stranded. The leaders were caught unaware and George and Slykiwi both collected the stranded car, effectively ending all three drivers races and possible chances at the title. This left the lead open for the pack behind them, with Keys taking the win, Ginns finding his feet and getting up to second, followed closely by Scott, Anton Bowen, The MadMaori Richie and Greeks rounding the 6. The third and final race for the night could be the turning point for the series, with some of the top contenders all striking bad luck in previous races of the night. Harding set off early to try and make up some ground, while George, Slykiwi and Keys all looked to get to the front and build a strong attack for the round & series win. Pitstops proved again to be critical in the series, with George and Harding getting through the pits fast to end up at the front of the field. Keys car had developed a engine
drama in the pits with the car stalling and refusing to restart - the crew got it sorted but saw Mitch fall down the order. Scott & Kemp both showed they had a strong package for the weekend again being competitive and comfortably in the top 6, after smooth pitstops from them both. However, up front George had all but made up for his failings in the last race with a strong decisive victory, from a charging Harding in second. Third saw Pluck cross the line, from Scott, Kemp and Hardman rounding out the top 6. However, down the order saw some drama with Gisborne driver Mathew Greeks taking exemption to contact earlier in the race and tried to take matters into his own hands - which saw the driver Disqualified and Suspended from racing for the rest of the series. Newcomer Scott showed a consistent night of racing to take out a round win, from Keys & George filling the podium.
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Words: Mitch Keys
Photography: Mitch Keys WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM
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The final round of the 2012 Go Fast V8Factor series was set to be held at the world famous Mount Panorama Circuit, otherwise known as Bathurst! Going into the finale, the championship was wide open. The headline heading into Bathurst, was that championship contenders Slykiwi and Mitch Keys would not be on the grid after a false terror alarm ceased the flights of the pair. This meant it was Harding’s to loose, with Kyle George and Matt Pluck in pursuit.
The lights went out and the field powered into turn 1. George had the jump over the field, with Bryce Harding slotting into second with Matt Pluck in third. From the get go a number of cars struggled to keep the cars off the wall, with some down the end of the field acquiring considerable damage over the mountain early on. The race settled in and the top order remained the same. George was pulling ever so slightly each lap on the field, and in time grew a considerable lead.
Qualifying was headed by Kyle George, then Bryce Harding, Matt Pluck, MMJ and Joel Murphy rounding out the top 5. The mountain proving too tough for some, with a lot of scraped fenders and torn up equipment post qualifying. The crews would work feverishly to get the cars prepared for the long endurance race ahead.
Half way through the race, disaster struck for Matt Pluck. The Go Fast #51 detonated and Pluck’s race was over. As the race drew to a close, with 2 laps left, the crowd witnessed a huge error from Kyle George over skyline. George had stacked the car in the wall and had lost a wheel. He would try and limp around to the finish. Bryce Harding could not believe his luck, the lead and the championship had fallen into his hands. At the line it was Bryce Harding taking the win and the Championship glory, followed by Kyle George, Joel Murphy, Hardman and RevXS.
1 hour was the distance for the big dance. The cream would rise to the top as Mount Panorama demanded a high level of respect and patience. To finish the race, drivers would have to more than likely give more than take, and take care of their equipment to last the distance. The cars were ready, drivers were ready, who was going to be the Bathurst Champion, and who was going to be crowned the 2012 Go Fast V8Factor Champion?
The final standings in the Championship were headed by SBR Driver Bryce Harding(563) and then followed by Hamilton Driver, Kyle George(480), Matt Pluck(449), Mitch Keys(432) and Slykiwi(402) rounding out the top 5. WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM
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THE BREA
SIMRACINGNZ GO FAST V8 S 2012 has seen a lot of firsts this year, one of which has been the highly acclaimed Go Fast® V8 Series hosted here at Sim Racing NZ. With a lot of interest shown throughout Australasia, some of the finest driving talent showed up to do battle in the Australian Taxi’s around various international tracks. The series got off to fast start at New Zealand’s famous Pukekohe Raceway in Auckland, where high speed and good brakes were the order of the day. Early warning sirens rung for New Zealand drivers when Australian Driver Slykiwi made his intentions clear taking out the round win at Pukekohe in commanding fashion. Mitch Keys and Kyle George were the highest placed kiwis at the home track in second and third. Round two then headed to the streets of Townsville, Australia, which proved costly to several teams involved in a massive pileup in the reverse grid race. Again Australian flyer Slykiwi showed off his talents taking out the clean sweep and collecting maximum points for his efforts and taking an early lead in the series. Round 3 then headed to a little known track in Chatham, USA, which again showcased high speed corners and a series of chicanes testing the car’s and drivers physically. Lucky Seven racer Bryce Harding looked to be the early pacesetter being the first to pip Slykiwi in lap pace, with Go Fast driver Matthew Pluck also in contention. Harding took out the round win, the first to knock Slykiwi off his perch, and make a bid for the series title. At the halfway point in the series, Slykiwi still held a good lead, with Harding, Keys and George all hot on his tail. The cars and teams headed off to Wannaroo, Australia for round 4 in what was one of the most contested rounds of the season. Hamilton driver Kyle George showed a great deal of pace and driver ability to slice through the field, while rough and tumble ensued for most others with battles and crashes happening
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AKDOWN
SUPERCAR CHAMPIONSHIP throughout the field. George notched up his first round win and put pressure on the top guys to lift there game heading into the final rounds if they want the title. Two Rounds to go, and the drivers headed to the bumpy and narrow Lakeside circuit, which proved trouble for some, while offering opportunity for others. All the top title leaders encountered trouble at various points in this round, with Pluck, George and Slykiwi all notching up DNF’s, while Keys and Harding both having poor results. Newcomer Scott flew under the radar to take out a topsy turvy round at the circuit, while the championship battle came down to just five drivers - Harding, Keys, George, Pluck and Slykiwi. The Final round of the series took everyone to one of the worlds most famous circuits - Bathurst, Mount Panorama. In what would surely be a gruelling challenge and career defining race, lived up to its expectations. Early troubles saw Keys and Slykiwi both ruled out for the race, leaving the title to just three. George had the pace and sprinted to an early lead, while Pluck suffered engine drama on lap 3 all but ending his career hopes. Harding was cruising in second - all that was required to win the series - until George had a lack of concentration seeing the Mountain claim another victim. Opening the door for Harding, he took it and won the final round and taking out the championship, with George and Pluck finishing the podium. The inaugural series here showed a lot of great battles and tracks throughout its length. While in comparison to other series it was short, it had all the action and drama one could expect from these cars. Tempers flew, crews worked up a sweat, cars were damaged, and drivers were broken. One can hope to see these cars racing here again in the future, where development ranks look strong, and could see a strongly contested series in the future.
By Matthew Pluck WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM
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FIVE MINUTES WITH BRYCE HARDING
This month we got the chance to sit down and talk to one of the top drivers at SRNZ, Bryce Harding. Bryce has just come off winning the Inaugural V8 Supercar Series, as well as winning the prestigious New Zealand Superstock Title in Huntly. He has also picked up a number of wins in Midgets, Superstocks, Streetstocks and V8’s this season. He is certainly someone to look to in the future, and here is a chance to have a bit of insight into his racing. MP: Firstly, let me just say how much of a pleasure it is to have you here on the Rundown Bryce, and Congratulations on taking out the Go Fast V8 Series win BH: Cheers man, it has been a great league, and its been a pleasure to be apart of it MP: Absolutely, there has been a lot of great drivers both locally and internationally take part, did you expect to be on the top step at the end of the series?
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BH: At the beginning of the series I was just managing to hang onto the back of the likes of SlyKiwi, Mitch Keys and Kyle George. So at that point I knew I had some work to do if I wanted to get up there in the series. MP: Yes, the start of the series was very tight indeed. One of your strong points of the series was your consistency, being one of very few drivers able to start and finish every race. Was this a key part in your campaign?
By Matthew Pluck BH: I suppose so, it may seem common sense but you have to finish to get points. Sometimes you feel like quitting and calling it a night. The final race at Townsville I guess was a testament to that where my car was almost totally ruined before reaching the second corner, but I resisted the urge to pack it in. Got back to the pits and came back out in my mangled wreck and managed to pick up a few spots from others misfortunes, it’s all points I wouldn’t have got otherwise. MP: The old adage to finish first, first you must finish certainly applies in motor racing. Your team and crew have done a great job this season with preparation, setup and repairs. How did you end up signing the contract with Lucky Seven - did you approach them preseason or did they head hunt you?
BH: It was 7:07pm local time on the 7th of March when I got the call from Lucky Seven Headquarters asking if I knew anyone without a drive, as they assumed I had already organised a private team myself. They gave me the run down of the deal with Stone Brothers and said I would be sharing the garage with Shaun Kingi. It all sounded good to me so the deal was made. MP: Just as well you did better then your teammate Kingi in this series. Obviously you drove with a lot of great drivers on some tough tracks throughout the series, was there any particular tracks or battles that were specially memorable for you? BH: You know it’s all a team effort, Kingi made some sacrifices for me after Townsville WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM
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where team supplies were running low and he sacrificed running a few rounds himself just so I could race. For that I cant thank him enough. Most memorable track would have to be the Chatham round, the car was really hooking up and managed to get my first and only pole of the series followed by my first win after battling race long with Matthew Pluck, he really made me work for it, especially in the closing stages as I had driven to hard on my car when the tyres were below temp which really suffered their longevity and at race end he was catching hard and fast, but I managed to hold on, just. Those are the moments we race for! MP: There were many great battles throughout the series which the spectators were certainly thankful for. We always hear about drivers commenting on poor officiating, track choices and so on, how did you find this series was ran? BH: As far as the tracks go, some certainly were challenging! But at the end of the day we all have the same track to race on it’s up
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to us as drivers to make the most of it. I prefer not to comment on the officiating. MP: Fair enough on that call. I understand you have other arrangements shortly Bryce, so before you go, is there any sponsors, people, teams etc you wish to thank before we let you go? BH: I would like to thank Lucky Seven Racing for providing one of the most consistant cars week to week. GoFast for sponsoring the series, it’s great to have these guys onboard I hope they stick around for future series. Big thanks to all competitors, national and international and finally RevXS - aka Nick entersirname here - for keeping a lid on the series. MP: Eichler’s the name you’re after there Bryce! Thanks for your time tonight, and all the best in future series BH: Cheers bro, it’s been a pleasure.
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AUSTR 29
RALIAN GRAND PRIX
By Mitch Keys
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Round 1 of the 2012 FIA SRNZ Formula 1 Championship kicked off at the world famous Albert Park Street circuit, located in Melbourne, Australia. A full 24 car field was entered into the season, the first round was looking like it was going to be a thriller. Unfortunately \ rough seas forced a number of containers to tumble into the ocean, and in turn left a number of drivers sitting on the sideline, and many teams without cars for the upcoming season. However all was not lost, and the powerhouse teams made it to the track. Possibly the biggest surprise heading into the season, was the Marussia signing none other than Kyle George. Alongside George, with be Cam Gins, who docent hold a lot of open wheel experience, but showed promise in testing. If pre-season testing was anything to go by Mercedes will be the team to beat, with the potent combination of Mitch Keys and Sam Gray. Red Bull Racing made the bold call to sign Ayrton and Kev Smith, and it seems heading in to Melbourne the Red Bulls have lost their dominant car they had last season. The 20 minute qualifying session was headed by Kyle George with a blistering 1:25.9939. Second quick was Mitch Keys in the Mercedes with a 1:27.258 and third quick was Callum Quin with a 1:28.006. Rounding out the top 5 was Gus Sanson and Ayrton Smith. As the lights went out on the field at Melbourne, it was Mitch Keys who got the holeshot into turn 1. Kyle George had got off to a horrible start
falling back to 3rd behind Callum Quin. As Kyle regained his composure, he made a good pass on Quin and started to hunt down Keys. Coming through the fast section over the rear side of the circuit, Kyle George got to the gearbox of Keys, and in turn lost all the down force on the car and speared off into the wall on corner exit. This put an abrupt end to the race favorite heading into Melbourne. Now it was Keys leading the pack with a sizable gap back to Quin and Scotty who was doing a good job in 3rd. There were many battles over the track, and lots of different pit strategies playing out. After the round of pitstops, Keys held his lead over Quin and Scotty with Smith and Sanson in chase. It had become apart that the Lotus team had made a monumental error and not put enough fuel in Scotty’s car to last the race. He wool end up running out with 10 to go. Jamie Hall and Cam Gins were in a raging battle of their own in the closing laps. The pair exchanging positions on numerous occasions. At the checkers, Mitch Keys crossed the line in P1, over Callum Quin by 3 seconds. 3rd was Ayrton Smith, then Gus Sanson, Hayden Kirk, Jamie Hall, Peter May, Scotty, Michael Kemp and Peter Kirk rounding out the top 10. After an incident on the final lap, Cam Gins was removed from all results and docked a 1 round penalty. The series now heads to Canada, for the Montreal Grand Prix!
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N A I D A N CA PRIX GRAND
By Mitch Keys
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Canada was the location for Round 2 of the 2012 FIA SRNZ Formula 1 Championship. The teams had make the trek all the way from Australia with no issues, and was set for a scintillating Grand Prix in front of the Canadian Fans. Mitch Keys held the lead in the championship with 25 points, who was then followed by Callum Quin on 20, Ayrton Smith on 16, Gus Sanson on 13 and Hayden Kirk rounding out the top 5 with 11 points. Qualifying was headed by Kyle George, who put in another stout performance laying down a 1:12.994, with Mitch Keys once again filling the other spot on the front row with a 1:13.063. Callum Quin in the Caterham impressed with a 1:13.087. The top 3 were covered by just under 1 tenth! Scotty and Gus Sanson then rounded out the top 5. 35 laps were scheduled for the Grand Prix. Mitch Keys once again got a mega start and took the lead into turn 1. Kyle George was right on his gearbox however and immediately began to pressure Keys. Heading into turn 4, George once again speared off the track, but this time taking Callum along with a number of other drivers with him.
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Scotty had made another great start and was sitting pretty after the front few fell off. Keys once again held a demanding lead over the field, as the cars who were involved in the crash limped to pit lane. The Marussia team managed to replace the wings and get Kyle back out there, and he immediately was back on pace lapping a few tenths slower than leader Mitch Keys. Kieren Johansen was making his F1 debut and was doing a fine job at that. The field was fairly spread out as the race matured, with teams now deploying pit strategies. Kirk was one of the early cars to pit, who then was followed by the majority of the field. Mitch Keys had now lapped up to 2nd place, with Kyle George driving a spirited race and holding it together on the lead lap amazingly. As the laps drew to a close, Keys was on track for win #2, as Kyle George held onto the lead lap. At the checkers Keys won by 1min 02.300 over Kyle George, who was then followed by Scotty with an impressive drive in 3rd. 4th was Smith, the Bowen, H Kirk, Hall, Eichler, Sanson and P Kirk. Keys now heads the championship with 50 points, with Smith and George a few markers back. Monza is next up.
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ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
By Mitch Keys
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The 2012 FIA SRNZ Formula 1 Championship was now in Monza for Round 3. All the talk was in the Caterham garage as a late signing saw open wheel ace, Aaron Hodgson take the reigns of Callum Quin’s sister car. The pace the team has shown this year, should give Hodgson a good chance for a podium in his debut. After a grueling 20 minute session at the 5.7km circuit, Kyle George qualified on pole for the 3rd consecutive round with a 1:23.854! 2nd was Hodgson with a 1:24.277, 3rd was Keys with a 1:24.639 and rounding out the top 5 Quin and Scotty. As the lights went out on the field, Keys once again got the clutch engagement to perfection and got another blinder of a start taking the lead into turn 1. George slotted into second, with Hodgson getting a shocker and falling outside the top 5. Monza was the raciest track the series had seen yet. With very long straights and tight chicanes, there were intense battles right the way through the field. Out front it was Mitch Keys and Kyle George going toe to toe for the lead. While the pair were battling, Hodgson made light work of pulling them in and engaged in the battle. Callum was also in a battle with Cam Ginns who were fighting over the 4th spot. The nature of the track meant momentum and braking were critical to moving forward. The front 3 of Keys, George and Hodgson would continue to
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trade the lead lap after lap, with the first two sections of the track producing passes almost every lap. Mid race saw Ayrton Smith stuck in the gravel at the final turn. He was however out of harms way and the race stayed green. The Toro Rosso teammates once again held very solid positions, with the teams championship well within reach. Hall and Sanson were teammates in the NASCAR series, and are hoping to take the F1 teams championship to go along their NASCAR title. With pressure mounting as the laps wound down, Hodgson slipped a wheel off track, and in turn backed his car into a barrier,ending his race. A number of laps later, George spun it as he tried to make a move on Keys coming out of the Turn 4 Chicane. First over the line was Mitch Keys, who held a 10 second gap back to Kyle George, Callum Quin, Gus Sanson and Cam Ginns rounding out the top 5. The championship now stands with Mitch Keys on a perfect 75points, then Kyle George on 40, Callum Quin on 36, Smithers on 35 and Gus Sanson on 33. Mercedes now holds a slim 15 point lead over Toro Rosso. With Mercedes failing to field 2 cars once again, Toro Rosso are in the cat birds seat to clinch the Teams Title.
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SRNZ ROAD ON THE
By Hayden Kirk
KIWI SIM RACING - ROUND 1 V8 SUPERCAR SERIES
SRNZ regulars Kyle George, Matt Pluck, Hayden Kirk & John Nikora & late arrival Bryce Harding took part in Kiwi Sim Racing’s Round 1 of the V8 Supercars Unleashed series hosted at Hidden Valley, A 19 strong field with an even balance of Fords & Holden took to the track for a 2 lap qualifying session with George & Pluck filling top row for race 1 & at the other end of the field Kirk 16th & Nikora 19th looked to improve on their posted time. The green dropped as the field roared into life as Kyle got a good start and instantly shielded the preferred line from Pluck but Pluck would have none of it out braking Kyle into T1 but couldnt pull the car up in time an slid into the sandtrap dropping back to 17th. Kirk & Nikora both advanced through the field on the opening lap Kirk working his way to 9th and 15th for Nikora but Pluck was on a mission to rectify an earlier mistake and
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made a big charge to get back inside top 10 after lap 3. But the George Commodore was untouchable every lap ticked by gained further advantage. Nikora fought bravely in a three way battle for 15th racing equally as clean as he was hard but had to settle for 16th, But Kyle George took top honours backing up his qualifying position with a race 1 win and possibly the drive of the night from Matt Pluck to comeback and finish second with Kirk 11th. Race 1’s finishing order determined grids for the second & final race of the tonight with the winner after 40 mins claiming maximum points so the front row was unchanged as Pluck looked to improve his opening lap to lay down a challenge for Kyle and did just that as Kyle fell asleep at the drop of the flag and Matt placed the Ford into p1 after T1. Bryce Harding added more firepower to the Ford team but looked to have a mountain
of work ahead started from rear of the grid but made light work early on gaining 7 spots after 1 lap as Kirk dropped 6 places and Nikora content with sitting behind the packing waiting to pounce. Plucks lead was to be short lived as they approached the final corner of lap 1 Kyle struck back and regained the lead but only momentarily as Pluck struck back once more. The two of them swapped back and forth for the lead and lap 6 Kyle retained the lead while Harding had settled into a groove in 13th as Nikora & Kirk struggling with consistency went backwards as the race drew on.
They continued to put on a fantastic show as they continued to swap for the lead a further 14 times!! but a cunning piece of driving from Kyle who was aware the the fact that himself & Pluck shared the same pitstall anticipated Plucks stop and entered pitlane ahead costing Pluck 12 secs before his crew could get to work on his car. From there George managed to hold of a late attack from ggaav to win as Pluck fought back to 3rd. Harding who could not be disappointed with his efforts came home 19th as Kirk & Nikora shared last place.
KIWI SIM RACING - ROUND 2 V8 SUPERCAR SERIES 18 cars took place in qualifying with Kyle George arriving late starting ROF race 1. SRNZ’s Matt Pluck took top honours starting pole position while other attending SRNZ visitors, Bryce Harding (7th) Hayden Kirk 16th. Heat 1 Kyle made quick ammends to his late arrival going from grid 19 to 14 after turn 1 as Matt Pluck began to pull away from the field, Harding in the FG Falcon was also on the move working up to 3rd by the end of the opening lap whilst Kirk fell back to 18th as a result of contact in turn one entry. It wasnt long before Kyle found himself running 7th as Pluck opening up a 3 second buffer from 1st to second with Harding not far behind. The lead was just not meant to be as Pluck suffered and engine blow out on lap 6 having to retire the SBR Falcon to the garage leaving Harding to battle with Lukey for the lead. Kirk had managed to claw his way back up to 11th with Kyle rampaging as the laps closed down. A rare mistake from Bryce Harding saw him runoff into the grass on entry of T1 dropping
back to 5th. Lukey managed to hold of for the win while George pulled of a final lap pass to finish second, Harding fell back to 8th & Kirk 10th. George starting P2 looked like the hot favourite at the end of the 40 min stint but Pluck was looking for redemption after receiving a blow from his mechanics. Pluck replicate George’s earlier race 1 start but going 1 better driving to 13th and the end of lap 1. As expected George drove away from the back holding a commanding league. But when things go wrong they go really wrong, a braking mistake from Pluck saw him take to the grass on the downhill running cutting the corner at decent speed narrowly missing Harding but unfortunately Hugh wasn’t so lucky wearing the full impact in the drivers door. So another DNF was booked for SBR. Kyle drove to victory lane with ease with the next best placed SRNZ driver Harding came home 3rd Kirk 11th but later penalised for a turn 1 incident in heat 1.
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TTR RACING - V8 SUPERTOURERS ROUND 1
Round 1 of the V8 Supertourers NZ Series held by TransTasman Rivals (TTR) and a Trans Tasman Rival it certainly produced to be as 18 cars took to an open qualifying session at Teretonga Raceway. SRNZ regulars Hayden Kirk, Myles Thomas & Dayne Powell attended the southern raceway to do their best to represent the Kiwi flag. At the end of the 10 min session it was Kirk who pulled out a personal best late in qualifying to the grid 1 with Thomas steadily improving lap by lap slotting into grid 6 & Dayne who had shown glimpses of posting a respectable time struggled for consistency starting at the rear. 3 races were contested 1x 15 lapper, 1x 20 lapper & 1x 30 and the green dropped Kirk held onto the lead covering the inside line on entry into turn 1 as the lead 3 began to pull away from the pack as Thomas who had gained a couple of spotrs from the grid stuck a right rear and was sent into a voilent spin into the tyre barrier and was to rejoin in 12th position. The Supercheap entry put is head down & went to work picking up 4 spots from the opening lap and started to settle into a comfortable groove. Kirks lead was to be short lived as he missed his braking marker allowing M1N1K0B3 to assume the lead and another mistake by Kirk left IcemanForbes to launch an attack on the leader. Mid race Myles Thomas was picking through the field and drove back into top 5 contention as he sat on Kwik Kiwis bumper just waiting to pounce. In the meantime Dayne Powell had an ‘off’ moment resulting in being stuck in the sandtrap as the field continued
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to circulate Powell desperately tried to pull the Commodore free, eventually doing so but was now 2 laps down. race leader M1N1K0B3 came up with an error with 5 laps remaining surrendering the lead to Forbes who had been closing the gap with Kirk a few seconds back. Iceman Forbes continued on to victory lane followed by Hayden Kirk and M1N1K0B3 held on for 3rd while Thomas who had been running with went off on the same corner on the opening lap but manage to salvage 6th & Powell 16th. Heat 2 Saw pacesetter IcemanForbes upfront Kirk grid 2 as everyone assume their starting grid based on their finishing order as the green lit up Kirk got the jump on Forbes off the start and come out in front of T1. Bad misfortune continued to run for Myles Thomas as a coming together with Billy Bob resulting in being backed into the fence as Dayne Powell once again drove smart driving up to 13th at the completion of the opening lap. But again back up front Kirk continued to slip on the fast entry T1 running over the edge onto the grass slipping back to 3rd. Thomas having to make an unscheduled pitstop for repairs ending his race. Placings remained unchanged as Forbes took his second win M1N1 2nd & Kirk 3rd, Powell again slipped through the order finishing 16th. Heat 3 30 lapper the SRNZ contingent looked for some consistency for the final race of the night Forbes maed the most of his p1 start as Kirk starting p3 again got a good start overtaking M1N1K0B3 for second as the same 3 again pulled away with Billy Bob doing his best not to loose touch with the group. What
looked to be a better started from Thomas as he showed great evasion to avoid Powell who stalled on the startline was to be undone trying to avoid a recovering car found himself of into the fence on the very same corner prior to the two earlier occasions. Early contact between Kirk & M1N1 saw both cars spear off into the grass on turn 1 extending Forbe’s lead as the two rejoined back in their original
positions. M1N1 later received a drive thru penalty dropping him back to 4th. Forbes was untouchable taking 3/3 Kirk comfortably finishing second, Myles Thomas despite his trip to the tyre barrier drove back up the order to 7th & Dayne Powell recording his best finish of the night in 14th.
SIMOFFROADRACING 30 LAPPER @ COYOTE POINT
SRNZ’s current Global Leaderboard Competitor Ayrton Smith competed in SimOffroadRacing’s WCORR 30 lapper event at Coyote Point. Better known as Smithers took to grid 3 on the challenging circuit full of jumps & bumps. The English flyer got off to a good start holding down 3rd spot but landed awkwardly dropping back as far as 9th. Digging deep Smithers drove himself back into contention for 4th spot dicing in a 3 way
battle with NZ # OKILL & MAD 62, dicing with OKILL for the majority of the race no found himself in a comfortable 3rd place and put his heading down and focus on producing some quicktimes.Mid race the drivers parked up and allowed all that wanted to pit to do so. Then the race resumed with the field bunched up again. Smithers kept his cool and held on for 3rd behind NZ REEFA & BurntValve who had both attended out Summer School WCORR series earlier in the year. WWW.SIMRACINGNZ.COM
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WHERE WE WERE 2ND JUNE 2012
SOUTH COAST WINGLESS TITLE JAY WAUGH MADE THE TRIP DOWN TO NOWRA SPEEDWAY, IN SOUTH SYDNEY TO COMPETE IN THE SOUTH COAST WINGLESS SPRINT CAR TITLE ON QUEENS BIRTHDAY WEEKEND. JAY PICK UP THE WIN IN THE MAIN EVENT AFTER STARTING MID FIELD! GREAT JOB JAY, KEEP IT UP!
ENTERING TURN 3 IN HOTLAPS!
JAY GOING FOR THE LEAD IN THE FEATURE
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ROLLING AROUND WITH THE CHECKERS! PHOTOS BY MICHAEL BULLIMAN
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