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DECEMBER 2014
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T E A M A M E R I C A : M O T O R S P O R T P L U S F E AT U R E Motorsport Plus gains exclusive access to the ‘Dream Team’ of the summer speedway season, Vernon & Vazey Motorsport.
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We sit down with the current Formula Ford champ, Jamie Conroy.
We talk to the Boss of HFT Motorsport, Kerry Halligan to hear about their new machine, the Crawford DP03.
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We introduce you to one of Motorsport Plus’ newest feature athletes, F2 Tri-Series champ, Toby Summers.
Motorsport Plus gives Wellington’s Elliot Andrew the floor, to give you an insight to the racer’s life.
12 NEWS PLUS FEATURE: 16 MOTORSPORT TEAM VERNON & VAZEY RACING PLUS Q&A 18 MOTORSPORT JAMIE CONROY PLUS Q&A 20MOTORSPORT HFT MOTORSPORT PLUS FEATURE 24MOTORSPORT INTRODUCING: TOBY SUMMERS PLUS Q&A 26MOTORSPORT 1NZ MARK OSBORNE PLUS FEATURE 28 MOTORSPORT ELLIOT ANDREW
COVER SHOT: Victoria Pickett/ Impactphotographix.com EDITOR Ayrton Brant editor@motorsportplus.co.nz INSTAGRAM: @Motorsportplus_Ayrton DESIGN + IMAGING Ayrton Brant ADVERTISING COORDINATOR(S) sales@motorsportplus.co.nz CONTRIBUTORS Impact Photographix, Tim Clark/Clark Performance, Jamie Conroy, Kerry Halligan/ HFT Motorsport, Mark Osborne, Elliot Andrew. PUBLISHER Motorsport Plus Ltd (09) 239 3495 PRINTERS PMP MAXUM Ltd. (09) 928 4200
Disclaimer MotorsportPlus Ltd. has a copyright and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission of the publisher. Neither editorial opinions expressed or facts stated in advertisements are necessarily agreed to by the editor or publisher. Whilst all efforts are made to ensure accuracy, no responsibility will be taken by the publishers for inaccurate information or for any consequences of reliance on the information.
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Motorsport Plus feature driver, Macau GP Podium maker and three time NZGP champ, Nick Cassidy dropped in to run a new Tatuus FT50 recently, before jet-setting abroad for more motorsport action prior to Christmas.
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South Auckland’s Toby Summers introducing the fans to his freshly built Yamaha R6 600cc F2 machine @ Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, during round one of the Tri-Series championship recently.
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The legendary Clark Performance stable was stacked recently, with both Team Vernon & Vazey Machines laying in wait, whilst a plethora of CP3 chassis were getting the magic touch from the Clark Performance crew.
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Trass Family Motorsport will be going large in 2015, with their launch into the ‘15 Bathurst 12 hour recently announced. TFM will be running the Ferrari badge with pride, with no less than four other machines ready for you to lease.
MOTORSPORT PLUS & THE MOUNT SHOP LTD ANNOUNCE NZ WIDE DISTRIBUTION
Motorsport Plus is privileged to announce their partnership with one of New Zealand's premier Automotive companies, Mount Shop Ltd. From the November issue forward, you can now pick up every edition of the free magazine from your local Mount Shop branch. Mount Shop has five stores nationwide, including Henderson
(Auckland), Penrose (Auckland), Hamilton, Palmerston North and Christchurch. Be sure to head in store and see the team(s) for your free edition of Motorsport Plus. Biggest Range and Expert advice.. Mount Shop has you covered! https://www.facebook.com/MountShop
SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN WINS FIRST BARRY SHEENE MEDAL AT V8 SUPERCAR GALA AWARDS The kid who made Volvo cool and the jandal a household name has been awarded V8 Supercars highest honour in being named the 2014 Barry Sheene Medallist as the sports best and fairest. Scott McLaughlin was voted as the most popular figure on the sport as race suits were swapped for bow ties at The Star in Sydney and the WAGs got their chance to don the frocks on the red carpet. The 21-year-old Kiwi has stunned the Championship this year starting in Adelaide when he shocked six-time Champion Jamie Whincup on the last corner at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide and hasn’t looked back since. Overcome by emotion he said live on television at the time: “I just plucked it in first, gave it some jandal and f… yeah” words that made him an instant hero to millions around the world. McLaughlin backed it up through the year with ten ARMOR ALL Pole Positions, equal with Whincup, to go with four race wins, again second only to the dominant Champion and equal with Mark Winterbottom, and one behind fellow Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen. The humble spoken Kiwi-born racer made his debut in the Development Series as a 16-year-old back in 2010. Having stepped up from the Dunlop Series as the reigning Champion, McLaughlin made his debut in the 2013 V8 Supercar Championship. He made an impact immediately, qualifying in the ARMOR ALL Top 10 Shootout for his first official full-time race at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide. An apprentice fabricator with experience working behind the scenes at SBR, Pace Innovations and GRM, McLaughlin completed his apprenticeship in 2013 and still works in the Valvoline Racing GRM workshop in-between on-track commitments. His personality, charm and humility has won him adoring fans. His fresh-faced, brash approach to all things has made him one of the most popular drivers in the sport. Five-time Champion Mark Skaife joined the luminaries of the sport when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, joining the greats of Australian motorsport in the all-time honours list.
MAZDA INKS ROAD TO INDY EXTENSION; POWERS NEW INDY LIGHTS CHASSIS If you’re a fan of feel-good stories, get ready for dozens more courtesy of Mazda. Since it was launched in 2010, the Mazda Road to Indy has offered the most defined and articulated path for young drivers to reach the Verizon IndyCar Series. It has also become open-wheel racing’s greatest scholarship program, and new chapters will be written in 2015 and beyond thanks to the Japanese manufacturer. ”Mazda is committed to our overall motorsports strategy at the grassroots level, in entry level professional series, at the 12
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highest levels of sports car racing, and in a formalized driver development program,” Mazda Motorsports boss John Doonan remarked. “Our motorsports program has always lived within the means of our resources and been held to a high standard of excellence by our executive team to ‘do the right thing.’ “Now, the icing on the cake is we were finally able to put all three levels of the Mazda Road to Indy together with Mazda power.” ALSO ONLINE @ ISSUU.COM/MOTORSPORTPLUS
RHYS MILLEN SAYS HYUNDAI SHUTTING DOWN RALLYCROSS PROGRAM
Hyundai has elected to withdraw from the Red Bull Global RallyCross Series, as announced by its partner Rhys Millen Racing. The decision ends a six-year association between the manufacturer and Millen (LEFT), whose team, based in Huntington Beach, California, has produced world records at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb along with victories in rallycross and Formula Drift. “This is disappointing news to the team and myself as we proved we could win or produce the top 3 fastest times in each event at the last six rounds of competition,” said owner-driver Millen. “We had achieved victories in the various disciplines of motorsport that we had partnered in the U.S. over the years.” Millen indicated surprise at the manufacturer’s decision. “This came as a real shock after Hyundai Korea had invested so much into supporting the same style of racing in the World Rally Championship,” he added. “I am happy with what we achieved as a team and am thankful to those at Hyundai that supported the program and believed in motorsports.” Millen’s Hyundai rallycross cars will now go up for sale or rental to privateers.
BRAY ENDS YEAR ON HIGH NOTE IN MEXICO
Globe-trotting Kiwi karter Daniel Bray has ended his 2014 season on a high note - finishing third at a big street race meeting in Mexico. The Auckland-based international, a former SuperKarts USA ProTour champion, and third last year at the KZ2 class World Cup meeting in France, was part of a star-studded group of top-level kart racers from around the world invited to Guadalajara in Mexico’s north-west to contest the inaugural meeting. Bray, driving for the works GP Karts team from Italy, was quick in practice but was prevented from matching that pace in qualifying (he set the 13th best time) by a flat tyre. Undeterred he made it to eighth from 13th in the first heat, then from eighth to second in the second, setting the fastest race lap each time. That saw him start the Final second and spend the race in a three-way battle for the lead with four-time former world champion Jonathan Thonon from Belgium, and five-time former champ Davide Fore from Italy. “I was in second behind Fore for 10 laps,” said Bray, “then Thonon passed me and Fore and I followed him through.” Fore was not particularly happy with Thonon’s move and immediately forced his way back past Bray - ‘he was supermad and I had to move out of his way to avoid contact and take off after the new race leader.” That left Bray in third place which he held to the flag, with Thonon managing to hold off Fore and win.
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BAKER BROTHERS DOMINANT @ SPRINGS SPEEDWAY.
At the time of writing, West Auckland duo and Motorsport Plus Athletes, Scott and Ryan Baker are undefeated at the heralded Western Springs Speedway in the Three Quarter Midget Division. Going into New Zealand’s version of Midget Week, the 2NZ of Scott Baker leads the Springs championship with multiple victories under his belt and the 15 of Ryan Baker taking the historic Shane Turner Memorial, having not finished off the podium this season to sit in second overall. The Elite Garden & Property Services/Quality Water Supplies backed team also now hold the long standing TQ lap record at the Springs Speedway, with Ryan Baker cracking a 14.5 second lap during heat racing. All this could mean nothing after another month though, as the TQ fields fight to catch up to the brothers from the Westside in the coming events. Be sure to check out Facebook.com/ BakerRacingTeamNZ for consistent updates and reports from the team.
MARSH ON PACE IN A-FUEL @ SPRING NATS 2014. After wowing crowds with their Top Fuel car in Howick just days before, the Marsh Motorsport/Mount Shop crew swapped their Nitro car for the A-Fueller and headed to Meremere Dragway for the 2014 Spring Nationals. After completing a rebuild over the winter the car had newfound power which left Anthony Marsh with tough time in the early passes, many runs ending in wheelspin. But with the clouds rolling in, their final run of the weekend saw everything come together, with Tony Marsh nailing the tune-up to hit a 5.490 second pass. Unfortunately the team just missed out on another chance to improve, with the rainclouds opening up as they were in the start lanes. Next event for the team will be the legendary Nitro Shootout, going up against the Fish Family Racing stable in an event that should be on your ‘Bucket List’, side by side Top Fuel passes. January 10th 2015. Meremere Dragway. Be there!
SPEEDWAY STARS AND LEGENDS STEAL THE SHOW @ MOVEMBER 200 Formula E Electric Indoor Raceway played host to the Movember 200 recently. The charity event, thought up by Papakura’s Matt Moir to help fundraise for the Prostate Awareness month, was stacked with popular drivers from across the spectrum of motorsport including rally, circuit racing and speedway. After two 100 lap races, with five driver changes per team, it would be Team Jared Wade who would take the victory, just finishing ahead of the all-star line-up of Pickens, including Mr. 100% Graham Standring. Needless to say the day was a success, handing over thousands of dollars for the charity, as well creating a great event motorsport fans can relate to. Many thanks to Matt Moir and his team for putting on such a great event. 2015’s Movember 200 sounds like it’ll be even bigger!
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TFM ANNOUNCE LESTER, MCINTYRE, SMYTH FOR BATHURST 12 HOUR ASSAULT Trass Family Motorsport, New Zealand’s Ferrari Racing Team, has announced a strong all-Kiwi line up for its debut at Mount Panorama in February for the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hour race. Multiple NZV8 and NZ SuperTourer Champion John McIntyre joins international GT3 driver Jono Lester and impressive Highlands 101 debutant Graeme Smyth in the TFM Ferrari 458 GT3, which will be the first ever Class A attempt for outright victory by a New Zealand team. McIntyre’s significant Bathurst experience, from many years of competing in the V8 Supercar endurance races, is bolstered by the added technical support from defending Bathurst 12 Hour Champions Maranello Motorsport; both of which will be crucial for Bathurst rookies Lester and Smyth, who will visit the famous 6.2km mountain for the first time. “Getting to race at Australasia’s most famous circuit in one of the most famous GT3 cars is very exciting,” McIntyre said.
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“I am also excited to be taking Jono and Graeme under my wing for their first drives at Bathurst. “There’s a great vibe about this team and to think we are a Kiwi Team is special too. Thanks to TFM for the opportunity and I can’t wait to see the reaction of the drivers and the team when they get to the Mount Panorama Circuit on race week.” TFM Team Principal Gerald Trass has seen his vision come to light despite being involved in motorsport for just six months, and Bathurst marks an exciting chapter in the team’s history. “We are honoured to represent New Zealand at Bathurst and mark a new chapter in the history of our young team,” Trass said. “I believe our line up and support team have the right ingredients to make us a real force, but we must not take the aura of Bathurst or the world class grid for granted.”
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MOTORSPORT PLUS FEATURE
ONE OF THE NEW CP3 CHASSIS UNDER CONSTRUCTION TO BE DRIVEN BY TWO OF MIDGET CAR RACING’S ELITE OF 2014.
TEAM VERNON & VAZEY ANNOUNCED Newly crowned 2014 USAC Midget Champion Rico Abreu, and 2012 USAC Midget Champion Darren Hagen will both make their way back to New Zealand this month to contest the 14/15 POWRi World Midget Series driving for the Terry Lines owned Team Vernon and Vazey Motorsport. Both were crowd favourites during their first time in New Zealand last season, and the two American Open Wheel stars are two of the fastest Midget racers in the US currently. Two brand new Esslinger powered CP3 Midget chassis’ plus a race ready spare, have been assembled at Clark Performance in Auckland for the campaign by renowned TQ and Midget fabricator Tim Clark for the campaign, which will see the talented duo racing in both New Zealand and Australia during December 2014 and January 2015.
The very experienced Clark and Steve Morris will oversee the setups for the two cars and will be assisted by an equally experienced crew consisting of Steve Currie, Kevin Hyde, Connor Lines, Ian Larsen, Kyle Larsen, and Kerry Clark. “I’m looking forward to having Rico and Darren in the two new Clark Performance CP3’s with Steve Morris built Esslingers. We can’t wait to get in there and gas it up over the Powri series” Tim Clark explained. Twenty-two year-old Rico Abreu from Saint Helena, California, will hit the NZ shores in red hot form, coming off a career best season, with 24 victories across Winged 410 and 360 Sprintcars, Wingless Sprintcars, Midgets, Micro Sprints, and Outlaw Karts.
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Midget Championship with a fifth place finish at the prestigious Turkey Night Midget Grand Prix in his #97 machine, holding off Kunz Motorsport teammate Christopher Bell and Tracey Hines for the title. Ironically, Bell raced and starred in New Zealand last season, and Hines will make his second trip to compete at Western Springs this month as well. Abreu’s Team Vernon and Vazey Motorsport CP3/Esslinger Midget will race with his regular #97 on the car. Likewise twenty-seven year-old Hagen, from Riverside California, is a sixtime USAC Champion on both dirt and pavement. ‘The Hawk’ has had another solid season in the US driving the Shane Hmiel owned #56 Midget, finishing second in the 2014 Powri National Midget Series, scoring five wins. Just weeks ago, Hagen also won the prestigious USAC Western World Midget Championship Feature at Canyon Raceway Park. Like Abreu, Hagen will race with his regular #56 on his Team Vernon and Vazey Motorsport CP3/ Esslinger.
“I’m looking forward to having Rico and Darren in the two new Clark Performance CP3’s with Steve Morris built Esslingers. We can’t wait to get in there and gas it up over the Powri series.” - Tim Clark.
“The very experienced Clark and Steve Morris will oversee the setups for the two cars and will be assisted by an equally experienced crew consisting of Steve Currie, Kevin Hyde, Connor Lines, Ian Larsen, Kyle Larsen, and Kerry Clark.” ALSO ONLINE @ ISSUU.COM/MOTORSPORTPLUS
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MOTORSPORT PLUS Q&A
JAMIE CONROY
P R O G R E S S I V E E N G I N E E R I N G / WA I K ATO M I L K I N G S Y S T E M S TAT U U S F T- 5 0 T O Y O TA The 2013/14 season was one to remember for Invercargill’s Jamie Conroy. From Claiming the National Formula Ford title, to taking out the Motorsport NZ Academy and scoring a TRS test along the way. We sat down with the rising star to learn more. Jamie, introduce yourself to the fans! For those who may not have watched the scene too closely. Hi, I started out in karts when I was ten, and am still jumping in a kart fairly regularly today. Around 5 years ago Rick Michels from Evolution Motorsport approached me at a kart meeting and asked if I would be keen to drive his 1995 Formula Renault. Of course I jumped at the opportunity and spent the next couple of seasons competing locally in that. Along the way I met a dairy farmer by the name of Mike Horgan who shared my passion for racing. He purchased a Formula Ford which I drove last season in my first ever national level of car racing. The 2013/14 Formula Ford season was a triumphant one for you and your team, give us the run down of the Championship winning year. I was fortunate enough to form a team around myself of very capable people and we had high goals and equally high standards in everything we did last season. I also had a large group of business partners, namely Progressive Engineering and Waikato Milking Systems as major supporters. We competed in both the New Zealand and South Island Formula Ford Championships and won them both. That made me the first rookie ever to take out both championships. In total we raced in 27 races, winning 24. It really was a dream debut season. Over the season, your race reports mentioned Mygale engineer, Greg Woodrow, contributing to your success in crucial rounds. Explain to the fans the importance correct setup and the rapport between the driver and his/her team. Greg was great, he just showed up at the Grand Prix round at Manfeild and was on to it straight away with different things we could try. I was fortunate enough to have my good friend Wal Willmott, Bruce McLarens No. 1 mechanic, helping me out on spanners. I would come in from a run and Wal and I would talk through what the car was doing, how we could make it faster. Wals knowledge was invaluable and the time we spent together working on the car
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went a long way to making the season as successful as it was. In an era where 90% of the Formula Ford championships in the world run modern, ‘standardised’ motors, like the Ford Duratec - with America even running Honda’s, do you feel it could be time for the National championship to drop the Kent motor and bring in a sealed motor for the seasons ahead? I think definitely the time is approaching where we need to move to stay on par with the rest of the world, but it’s not something that can be simply dumped on competitors. A lot of the guys competing in Formula Ford have been there for a number of years and set themselves up around those engines. Simply dropping them for something else would for sure see those grass roots type guys drop off the radar which is something Formula Ford can’t afford. It needs to be managed correctly and carefully, and I think the team they have on board are capable of doing that and are making good inroads. The removal of oversized engines was a good first step. Is there any other way you can think of that would bring the running costs down for the class, or to give drivers or sponsors more exposure and thus value for money? TV coverage is something that has been missing from Formula Fords for the past few seasons, which is definitely a big asset when approaching sponsors, and something that would be cool to see back. Once the dramas in the V8 camps reaches a conclusion hopefully Formula Ford will be able to align its calendar with whatever V8 series we have left and can find an easier path to TV coverage from that. Onto your post-Formula Ford career, you achieved the overall winner of the prestigious Motorsport NZ Academy for 2014. How was the weeklong event? Can you give us a glimpse into the challenges they set for the elite few in NZ Motorsport? Biggest week of my life, period! Just amazing, the resources, knowledge and the programme they have set up in the Motorsport NZ Elite Academy
is unparalleled world-wide. I learnt so much that has already helped me immensely. By the end of that week I was shattered emotionally, mentally and physically. I loved it! Sprinting up the world’s steepest street in pouring rain is a memory that will stay with me for life. With your success in the New Zealand Formula Ford championship, you were able to score a TRS test drive way back in early 2014. Although she was a bit wet, how was the experience? It was great, I learnt a lot. The Michelin wet tyres those cars run are insane, they have so much grip. Also the noise from the engine is crazy too, when the engine comes on the big cams you really know what’s going on! I was also lucky enough to have a test in Australia with Team BRM in one of their Formula 3 cars, the TRS test played a big part in the success of the F3 test for sure. With the new TRS chassis debuting this year, is there a chance we’ll see name Jamie Conroy along the side of a certain FT-50 chassis? I’m very excited to be able to announce that thanks to Mobil 1 and returning sponsors such as Progressive Engineering and Waikato Milking Systems I have signed with M2 Competition for the 2015 Toyota Racing Series. It’s shaping up to be a huge year for Toyota Racing Series and I’m stoked to be a part of it! Your motorsport career wouldn’t be possible without the support of many. Here’s your chance to thank those who make it possible. Huge thanks goes out to Rick at Evolution Motorsport for opening the first door for me. Massive thanks to Scott and the team at Mobil 1 for opening the latest door! And to Mike Horgan, my previous and current partners and my awesome team for everything that’s happened in between!
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THE HFT MOTORSPORT BRAND HAS BEEN AROUND THE CIRCUIT RACING SCENE FOR A WHILE NOW, BUT WITH THE PURCHASE OF A CAR THAT HAS COME SECOND IN THE 24 HOURS OF DAYTONA, THINGS JUST WENT TO ANOTHER LEVEL. WE TALKED TO KERRY HALLIGAN TO LEARN MORE. Kerry! Can you tell us about HFT Motorsport? HFT has been set up as a Motorsport business of offering lease, finance, build-design, transport, insurance and full management of race cars. We originally started with the idea of converted road cars i.e. Evo’s, as a lot of people can relate to the cars and at club level there are quite a few of them. But they are quite costly, mechanical wise, if high performance is wanted. We then focused on Transam and space frame type cars, as I believe there is a growing market for these, as maintaining them is far more economic and transparent to the customers. We have one Transam available at present, as the Australians have purchased the other one. GTRNZ is also the best class racing here in NZ. There are no rules and everyone with anything can come race, as the format has time brackets and handicap races with only one scratch race per meeting, so it’s fair to all competitors. There are no rules as such, apart from the fact you must sit right or left side of the car and it must have a complete covered body, the one set of tyres per round keeps the GT1 cars on a level plain, as it doesn’t matter how much HP you have if you fried the tyres. I can sure attest to that whilst in the transam last season. As we don’t have a pro driver I had to hit the gym and do the driving, as first we must prove ourselves, the cars, and the team ability to gain lease car customers. HFT also make racing fuels and our E85 Blend is considered the best here in NZ by many. Every batch is tested and always at the correct level or ratio ordered by the customer. We take considerable effort to make sure it’s correct and are proud of the fact that both Glenn Smith and Nick Chester are using our product and we are in the same race competing with them. Mad Mike Whiddett called last week and purchased some of our product for his Australian competitors for the Auckland drift shift meeting. 22
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How about last season? How did that go for you? Last season we concentrated on the C6 Transam and got some very good results, including a lap record for the Transam class. We have now sold one and have kept one to lease out as more of these cars are coming back out to race 2014 sees you in a legendary Crawford DP03, powered by the same 5000cc Pontiac motor used during it’s time in the Daytona Prototype class in America. Was there any particular reason why we brought the Crawford onto kiwi shores? The reason to bring in the Crawford car was to be at the sharp end of the field and because these cars are built for 24 hour races, they should be a lot more reliable. Another reason was for us to go down the route of carbon composite and ground effect cars, as we have gained access to source these and hope to receive requests for them as we prove the HFT DP Boss car over this season. ALSO ONLINE @ ISSUU.COM/MOTORSPORTPLUS
Has there been anything you’ve changed spec-wise since it’s time in the Daytona Prototype class? When the DP car was purchased we sent it back to Crawford for a couple of upgrades, the paddle shift gear system they have just released, and larger rear wing. Whilst the car was apart the engine was sent back to the supplier for an upgrade of 100 hp. Though our dyno testing here in NZ has revealed we didn’t get the 100hp more, HFT’s race engineer Maurice Ebbett will now build a suitable engine here in NZ with the assistance of CSL, here in Palmerston North. Although, we did well with the 1.02.5 at Pukekohe, posting the second fastest lap time even though we are 300hp below some other cars. How about the first round of this season? How did the HFT machine go there? The first round at Hampton went ok, but we did not finish two of the races, as the car was still having the electronics set up for the gear selection and had some ‘hick up’ of not giving the gear when asked. This made for a wild ride on occasions, as too did a faulty brake bias sensor, causing there to be too much rear brakes. With this new machine, what are your goals and aspirations for it for the future? Goals this season are to get this car to its most competitive level and then gauge the level of interest of other competitors as to importing this type of vehicle available for season lease. Sponsors play an important role in the game of motorsport, here’s your chance to thank them. The team at HFT would wish to thank our sponsors, Pepsi Max, Roadmarking Services, Repco and Dewtec. ALSO ONLINE @ ISSUU.COM/MOTORSPORTPLUS
“As we don’t have a pro driver, I had to hit the gym and do the driving. As first we must prove ourselves the cars, and the team ability to gain lease car customers” FACEBOOK.COM/MOTORSPORTPLUS
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Rolling into Hampton Downs for the first round of the Suzuki Tri-Series, I was on the look out for the #777 Yamaha R6 of a fellow South Aucklander and current Tri Series title holder, Toby Summers. As I walked around the pitlane, there it was, in all it’s glory – the matt black Beast that Summers will be using to both try and retain his title and chase the coveted 1NZ in the National championship. With such credentials behind him, I was expecting a team of mechanics and engineers following the ex-pat Brit around the pitlane, looking for the extra performance gain, but no. Stretching out on his minimalist armchair, the Summers Plumbers/R&R Powersport rider looked like he couldn’t have been more casual in his approach. But once again, I was wrong. After witnessing his 20 minute practice session, watching his commitment into the notorious turn one at the Hampton Downs circuit, hearing the over-run in his finely tuned 600cc machine echo down the pit straight, it was clear to see Summers is one committed individual. After coming second in the National title race last year, some have been asking why his #777 race number hadn’t been replaced by the 2NZ ? “Running the number 2? I might as well stick ‘Loser’ on there instead!” the 41 year old father of two explained, summing up his desire for victory. “All I know is to get on the bike and smash the throttle – it’s done alright for me so far, but I’ve got to do more to go further” Summers explained, after fuelling, changing his rear tyre and going over his new data analysis programme himself prior to an upcoming session. “We’ve got to learn something new every session.” Although everything seemed to be going fine at the opening round, the battle to get his machine ready for the Suzuki Tri Series was an epic. After a fresh motor rebuild with a few new imported parts prior to pre-season testing, dyno runs showed the new pieces were far from superior – leaving Summers scratching his head as to what to do next. “A dodgy engine part from Australia put us behind schedule a bit, but then it was the fairings”. After spending countless hours after work getting his preparation and bodywork up to spec, an ‘off’ during pre-season testing would see Summers head back into his garage for more bodywork. More late nights the week prior to the opening round would see the bike ready just in time, although Summers had mixed emotions; “I’ve had enough of these fairings! Don’t want to do another one anytime soon.” All the hard work would pay off though, as after the opening round the Manukau local is tied on points for the Tri-Series lead going into round 2. “How I finished up at the end of the day with a share of the points lead I don’t know,” said defending champion Summers. “I had a huge battle with Christchurch’s Alistair Hoogenboezem and figured, seeing as he’s not doing the whole series, I could just let him go and not risk anything. Next thing I know, I come over a brow of a hill and I see Al Hoogie and another rider off the track and in the gravel. Hoogie lost the race; I didn’t win it. “In the second race I had a perfect start and settled for second behind Al Hoogie but was then told I was being penalised 20 seconds for apparently jumping the start. That put me back to 10th position. I disputed that decision but it didn’t change anything.” “So, to come out of what became a bad day with a share of the lead is quite remarkable really.” You can watch Summers at the Grand Finale of the Tri-Series at the legendary Cemetery Circuit at Wanganui on Boxing day, or follow him through the National Series in 2015. Or alternatively, check out Facebook.com/Tobysummers777 for more during the season.
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MOTORSPORT PLUS Q&A
MARK OSBORNE #1NZ McDONALDS / SADT HYPERMAC
Mark Osborne is beginning to reach legendary status amongst the Super Saloon ranks, taking the 1NZ crown and dominating the 2013/14 BK Pro Dirt series. Motorsport Plus recently caught up with him to get the low down from the Big Mac.
Mark! Coming from a somewhat dominant 2013/14 in the Super Saloon car class, how have you found the opening rounds of the new season? So far so good. We have had 5 meetings so far into this season the first being Nelson and we did well, it was a Nelson Trophy night and we placed 1st overall. Both meetings at Baypark went well, we won two out of two, winning each night with two wins and a second. This brought us to Gisborne for round three of the Burger King Series. We came away winning the feature and taking round. It was onto Napier for Round 4 of the Burger king series getting a second in the feature leaving us second overall for the round and leading the series on points. But with a few rounds to go its anyone’s game. All in all has been a great start for us. Your machine has also recently undergone a livery change. With such a major brand backing you, do you feel an added responsibility to perform? Yes, it’s been a big livery change this year with McDonalds coming on board. No, I don’t feel any added responsibility, we always perform the best we can each and every time, both on and off the track. Having a chance to involve major car backers/owners can really enhance the experience for all, tell us about the importance Dave Ansty has had on your career to date? Oh goodness where do I start! Dave came on board with us in 2006 and has been a huge part of our team ever since, both Dave and Winsome Ansty. He is a big influence in my life and my family’s. He takes the pressure of me big time driving around the country side, sorting the car, our team gear, the list goes on and on, all the while he runs his own successful business and still manages to help us with everything. I could honestly say that I don’t think I would be where I am today without him. I remember when I decided to give up Superstocks and move on to Supersaloons I was really nervous to tell him or even ask him if he would stay onboard as we were thinking of a 26
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change in class and Dave has always been such a huge Superstock fan. I finally did and he didn’t even flinch I think he loves Supersaloons even more than Superstocks now! So all in all the importance of Dave on my career to date is huge and will always be grateful to Dave and Winsome. Can you tell us more about the HyperMac Super Saloon chassis? What do you think separates ‘the goods from the greats’ when it comes to chassis setup and preparation? The Hypermac is obviously a wicked chassis, they have been and still are front running cars. Shane is a good chap to deal with and does give great advice. My crew chief Tiny knows his way around a race car setup, we are always trying new stuff to see if we can get that wee bit more out of it. Between myself, Tiny, Vaughan, Dave and Bruce we spend loads of hours in the shed prepping the car before each meeting making sure everything is top notch. Speaking of which, for the non Super Saloon fans out there, can you give us the run down on any chassis adjustments you can make on you HyperMac machine whilst on track in a feature, for example? Yeah sure. There are lots of things we can adjust in the car as we go. We can tighten the car up on a weight jacker for when the track slickens off, we can stiffen the car up, we can also dial in the shocks as we go. The back shocks are adjustable from inside the car and we can turn brakes on and off to give more front or rear brake on the bias, depending on track condition. What about yourself? With the offseason break, did Mark Osborne change any philosophies mentally or physically? No, apart from the car getting a physical change and a big off season rebuild, which always puts you in a good frame of mind knowing everything is brand new or rebuilt.
How about the rest of the season? With such a high success rate over past seasons, is there anything else you’re aiming to accomplish? I never really set myself big goals. I always say let’s go and put on a show and entertain and if we are doing that right, normally we are at the right end of the field. Social media has become a big part of promotion in motorsport, is there anywhere new fans can find you online? Yes we have a facebook page. Osborne Racing is where we put up all our info on how we are going and what we are up to. We do an update on there after each meeting and let people know what we are up to with new merchandise etc. I think Facebook has been great for our Team and its really great to get positive feedback and private messages from the fans, it just makes you want to push that little bit more, we have such a great following awesome fans and supporters.
The motorsport game is one where you cannot go it alone into. Here’s your chance to thank those many supporters of Mark Osborne 1NZ. Firstly my dedicated crew Tiny and Vaughan, who fly up to the North Island every meeting, Dave and Bruce my Auckland based crew and Hardie and GaGa from Rotorua and Te Aroha, who meet us in the middle. I’m so lucky to have these guys on board. As we all know none of this can be done without our great sponsors McDonalds NZ, SADT – Super Abrasive Diamond Tools, AirCon Services, Fujitsu, Blazing Firewood Christchurch, Kelford Cams, Hypermac Racecars, Elite Wheels, Watkins Race Engines, HPE Automotive and AWS Graphics who does our awesome Designs for the Car and Merchandise.
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ELLIOT ANDREW
B E TA TO O L S N Z / S C O R P I O N R A C E C A R S / G A Z L E Y M OTO R S SRC01 FORMULA FIRST Elliot Andrew, a name once prominent in the kartsport ranks, is back. After seeing a plateau in his motorsport career, this year the Wellington local has sampled the racers life, running everything from a Porsche GT3 cup cars to elite open wheel racing in the form of Formula First. Here’s his year in review.
Wow, what a year it has been! Having spent the past six years out of competitive national level kart racing and sitting on the sidelines wishing to one day race cars, 2014 has been the year it has all finally come together for me and arguably one of the best seasons of my racing career. Having grown up racing against Mitch Evans, Scott McLaughlin and numerous other drivers that have gone onto greater things, I have been more motivated than ever to throw everything I have into getting myself a drive. My racing season kicked off relatively late in the year starting June, when I paired up with childhood karting competitor and NZ TR86 Champion, Jamie McNee, in the first round of the Mahindra North Island Endurance series at Pukekohe in a Motorsport Services prepared Seat Leon Supercopa. Having less than 48 hours to get everything organised, including a National Race licence, I arrived at Pukekohe Raceway in time for the first practice session and 15 minutes later, I was being strapped into the car and turning laps of the high speed circuit. After our practice and qualifying sessions, we had the car qualified P2 in class for the 3 hour race the following day. As always in this demanding and competitive sport, finding funding to even run in race events is a hard thing to find and being funded mostly on my own, I was fortunate enough to have the support from Gazley Motors Wellington who came onboard as the primary sponsor for the round and having a number of team owners and people with contacts in the sport present at this round, I wanted and needed to perform at a high level in my debut car race. Jamie started the race which was a good move considering his level of experience in starting races in cars, and I would take over for the last hour and a half of the race. At the end of the first hour and a half, Jamie had us leading our class and P2 overall before handing over to me. 28
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Things were running smoothly and I held the lead and kept a consistent margin until the last half hour, where a puncture robbed us of the win and eventually we would cross the line in P2, but on debut for myself, I was extremely happy with where I had finished and proved that I was still fast on track after a long stint out of racing. Round 2 of the series came up quickly 4 weeks later and Jamie and I hadn’t confirmed a drive but last minute decided to enter the 1 Hour Endurance race at Taupo but this time in a Porsche 997 GT3 and again with Motorsport Services. Having never driven at Taupo and in a more demanding race car, I was completely out of my comfort zone. I spent our practice day getting used to the car and improving on my lap times each session before qualifying on the Saturday morning. At the end of both qualifying sessions on Saturday morning, we found ourselves P2 on the grid alongside another 997 GT3. Jamie again started the race for us and made a pass for the lead and briefly held it until locking up both front tyres, ‘flat spotting’ them, which meant we had to replace both front tyres.We pitted from P2 and I jumped in for the last 30 minutes rejoining just ahead of the leading Porsche who started to close in, threatening to put us a lap down with their pit stop still to complete. Looking in my mirrors I could see the leader closing in and then nothing. A spin from the leader had cost them a lot of time and when they pitted, their misfortune handed the lead over to us and we were 28 seconds up the road. All I had to do was keep the car on track and bring it home. The other Porsche had a brand new set of Michelin tyres and was easily 2 seconds a lap quicker compared to us on used tyres and brakes and running on a tight budget. What seemed like an eternity passing slower traffic and fighting to keep the car in a straight line on worn older tyres I finally crossed the finish line in 1st place and then I realised in just my second car race, we had won and in a Porsche GT3,
which aren’t easy to drive. I was over the moon. Unfortunately we had to miss the last round of the championship as Jamie was overseas and I couldn’t get a budget together to race in time. After my success in the Endurance Series, I was approached by Gary Brant and the team at Scorpion Racecars in Auckland, the manufacturers of a new Formula First chassis, the Scorpion 01, who offered me a test in the car at Taupo and then offered me a drive for the Vortex Racewear Formula First Championship as their development and number one driver which I have taken up. Since then we have completed three rounds of the championship, with our best results coming at the latest round at Thunder In The Park at Pukekohe, where we qualified on pole three tenths of a second ahead of 2nd place. We converted this pole position to two 4th place finishes and a 2nd place, losing out on the win by 0.027 of a second and earning us our first podium of the season. It is going to be a very close championship and so far have proved we are ones to watch and currently placed 2nd in the Rookie of the Year Championship. I must say a huge thank you to a number of people. Gazley Motors of Wellington, Karly and the team at Motorsport Services, all of my supportive family and friends, Gary, Maria, Emerson and Ayrton at Scorpion Racecars, my father Philip who has been my main supporter behind my racing career since day one, my manager Liam Meegan from Direct Management Group Australia and of course our new partners who have signed on with Scorpion Racecars for the season, Beta Tools Italy and Motorsport Plus Magazine. The future looks bright for us and for 2015? There are exciting things to come that’s for sure, and I am certainly not done yet. I’ve experienced the taste of winning, and I’ll do everything to win and have that experience again.
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