The weather hammered in, but the racing continued. The 2021-2022 summer motor racing series reached its midpoint at Hampton Downs in the north Waikato in February, with a full programme of racing completed in conditions team owners described as ‘horrible’.
The winds and rain of Cyclone Dovi lashed the North Island, making the racing fraught and washing away the ‘grip line’ of rubber usually laid down on the circuit’s racing line. Low grip caught out a number of racers over the two days.
The categories present over the weekend of February 12-13 all have different series lengths and start-points, so the racing included opening rounds, mid-points and almost-closing rounds.
The racing happened under Covid red light conditions which required a carefully managed and communicated Covid plan and prevented the admission of spectators.
Super GT: Adam stars, but Dippie holds on
The third (penultimate) round of the Rodin Cars Super GT series saw less mayhem than the previous round, with Martin Dippie holding on to his points lead.
It was Connor Adam in the Delete Porsche who starred on the podium in the first Super GT races. He won the Saturday race in dominant form, then was the ‘rain-master the following day.
Sunday morning’s 30-minute race at Hampton Downs was lashed by heavy rain as the field assembled on the grid.
Despite the tough conditions Adam streaked from P4 to P1 in the sprint down to and through the first corner as many in the field slid off the track. He won the race and the Porsche category with Nigel Cromie taking the GT4 win.
Series leader Martin Dippie and Paul Kelly completed the Porsche podium.
Second in GT4 was Shane Helms the experienced Grant Aitken third.
The one-hour endurance race the following day started on a dry track. Paul Kelly started from pole with Kris Bostock starting alongside. It was Kelly who held the early lead, swapping fastest lap times with Bostock. Connor Adam loomed close behind.
When the ‘pit window’ (compulsory pit stop time) opened on lap 19 Adam chose to pit, leaving Kelly out on track and building his lead. Five laps later Kelly also pitted, handing the lead to Paul Southam and then Rob Steele.
Adam emerged from the pit period leading and looking set to take the win.
However, the International Motorsport driver stopped on the exit of the hairpin.
“The car was mega all weekend, unfortunately we had a half shaft failure in that final race while leading by 30 seconds. It’s a hard pill to swallow but we will come back stronger,” he said afterward.
With the Adam Porsche stopped on track the safety car was brought out, compressing the field.
Steele led the field to the restart, Kelly saw an opportunity to make a move on the restart, crossing the pit entry blend line while doing so and catching the attention of the race officials.
Kelly crossed the finish line in the lead with Steele in second, Bostock third. However, Kelly received a 10-second post-race penalty dropping him to a third-place finish, moving the Steele/Southam entry to first.
In the GT4 field, Cromie took the class win ahead of Brent Forman and David Cremer – a McLaren 1-2-3 result.
After the first three rounds of the championship, Martin Dippie leads the Porsche class ahead of Rob Steele. In GT4, Nigel Cromie leads the points from Stephen Harrison.
The Super GT series is a combination of three world class motor race categories brought together into one race series to offer exciting motor racing involving a number of global super brands.
The Super GT category includes: Porsche 911 GT3 Cup NZ; GT4 NZ; Ferrari Challenge NZ. The average value of the grid at any given round comfortably exceeds $15m.
The fourth and final round of the Rodin Cars Super GT Series is scheduled for March 26-27 at Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park.
Rodin Cars Super GTs, top ten after three rounds
1 Nigel Cromie, GT4 397
2 Stephen Harrison, GT4 385
3 Martin Dippie, 911 364
4 Rob Steele, 911 353
5 Shane Helms, GT4 333
6 Grant Aitken, GT4 317
7 Dave Cremer, GT4 316
8 Paul Kelly, 911 288
9 Connor Adam, 911 256
10 Paul Southam, 911 253
Ward demolishes opposition in V8 Utes
The Ryco V8 Ute race series was back in full swing over the Hampton Downs weekend in February for the season opener.
With 2020-2021 champion Paul Manuell not contesting the round, familiar face Peter Ward took round one honours and won two of the four races held over the weekend
Ward said he had been too long out of the race seat, last competing in the previous year’s final round in April 2021.
“I’ve just had the need for speed.”
The 11-entry field comprised seven Holdens and four Fords. The first two rows in qualifying were covered by just .03 seconds.
In race one Ward (Holden) started P2 alongside polesitter Greg Kroef (Ford) and took the lead, but Kroef stayed with the series veteran for most of the eight-lapper. A slight with three laps in hand put Kroef too far back to challenge for the win.
Race two brought rain and there was a family feel to the leader-board as Brad Kroef (son of Greg) overcame the conditions to win.
The two shared the front row for race three on Sunday morning, but it was Shane Dias who surged through to the front. A misfire had meant Dias finished the second race last. With that problem solved overnight, Dias carved through the field and closed in on Ward.
A cross-over at the first corner enabled Dias to take the lead and win.
“I really enjoy the wet, so I was praying for it after a pretty shocking [Saturday],” Dias said.
Not all of Dias’s wishes came true, however. Race four was dry with strong buffeting crosswinds. Ward capitalised on a front row start and ran away to take another win. Brad Kroef finished second and Dias third.
“I was off like a robber’s dog,” Ward said. “Awesome weekend.”
Ward’s two wins give him a slim 20-point buffer over Brad Kroef. Pukekohe Park hosts round two of the championship in March.
Ryco NZV8 Utes, top ten after one round
1 Peter Ward, 132
2 Brad Kroef, 112
3 Shane Dias, 104
4 Phil Ross, 96
5 Greg Kroef, 89
6 Stu Monteith, 83
7 Simon Ussher, 79
8 David Lowe, 77
9 Paul Fougere, 7
10 Bruce McRae, 67
History really does repeat
Exactly a year ago Rowan Shepherd won the Toyota 86 round at Hampton Downs. This year he has re-ignited his title defence and repeated his 2021 form.
The 86 series is at its half-way point, and Shepherd is battling hard against early pace-setter Simon Evans. The series has attracted its strongest-ever entry, with 21 drivers gridding up for each round.
Shepherd won the opening race of the weekend, biding his time on the opening lap and then rocketing past Evans into the lead. He stayed out in front all the way to the finish, surviving a red flag – when Todd Prujean crashed spectacularly at the challenging first turn having put all four wheels onto the grass on the outside – and then a downpour that created a ‘train’ of race cars for the remainder of the race.
“We have a great car in the wet so I was pretty comfortable after the restart although it is always difficult to lead these races, especially in unpredictable conditions.”
In the second race it was veteran John Penny who took top points. The 54-year old won a until the drag race to the finish line to pass race leader Dion Pitt and deny the rookie his first win in the Toyota 86 Championship.
It was 54-year-old Penny’s second win of the season and one of the most spectacular finishes in the nine year history of the Toyota 86 series. Pitt looked to have the race sewn up, but the wily veteran had managed his tyres using all of his years of experience and was able to build a race winning challenge in the closing stages of the 14-lap race.
“We have had a good car all weekend,” said a delighted Penny afterwards. “I tried to cool the tyres and then was able to attack for the last three laps and thankfully it came off in the race to the line. One for the old boys!”
Starting the final race of the weekend from pole position on a dry track but with rain in the air, Shepherd didn’t challenge Evans for the lead on the opening lap.
After six laps he found his way past and never looked back, cruising away to a two second win to secure the round and slash Evans’ series lead by 20 points.
“It’s a dream weekend for us. The car was faultless and was awesome all weekend so it basically came down to me not to make a mistake. I just worked hard to stay focussed and let the car do the work. Anything can happen in this championship so we’ll just keep doing what we are doing and look forward to the next round at Pukekohe Park,” said Shepherd.
2022 TOYOTA 86 CHAMPIONSHIP
top ten after three rounds
1 Simon Evans, 630
2 Rowen Shepherd, 612
3 ustin Allen, 543
4 Marco Giltrap, 484
5 Dion Pitt, 458
6 Matthew McCutcheon, 456
7 Hugo Allan, 438
8 John Penny, 410
9 Zac Stichbury, 356
10 Brock Gilchrist, 329
