Australian Ute Racing Rookie of the Year Kris ‘Killa’ Walton dominated the fourth round of the UDC NZ V8 Utes series at Taupo over the weekend after a blistering debut on the circuit.
Only a last lap error in his first race stopped the Multispares Ford Falcon driver from clean sweeping the event on a circuit that favoured the Ford’s handling more than the Holden’s. Walton was unstoppable all weekend dominating each race no matter where on the grids he started and he smashed the Ute lap record in the process too.
Championship leader Chris ‘Hammer Time’ Hanley was in the right place at the right time to benefit from Walton’s last lap spin and inherited the Race 1 win, which did no harm for his championship points lead. “It was a tough weekend, we just struggled to find the consistent fast-pace the Fords have at Taupo and it was always going to be a points chasing round for me. We had a great weekend though and it was awesome to go racing at Taupo again in the Brother Holden. I’m pretty stoked to have extended my series lead.” Hanley left the weekend with 450 points – 57 ahead of his nearest rival.
His principle challengers Mike ‘Buzz’ Lightfoot and Peter ‘Kaos’ Ward had mixed weekends. Lightfoot was on the pace in the crowd-pleasing green Precision Components Ford, but he was unable to stop Hanley from extending his point lead despite two second place race finishes. Ward, in a Holden, was spectacular all weekend but not quite on the overall pace of the Fords and a huge accident in Race 3 when the steering failed as a result of earlier contact pitched him hard left into the barrier going flat out down the start/finish line straight.
Frantic work by Stoneman Racing’s crew got the Ute back on its feet for the final race where Peter started from the pit lane but the V8 monster was a handful throughout the 12 lap feature finale with its hastily rebuilt front end. Often fully sideways through the corners, the crowd loved it, but another low race finish meant a poor points score for the weekend. He ended up a disappointed 11th overall for the weekend.
Matt Lockwood enjoyed his return to a category in which he has been a champion. With James ‘Huggi’ Urquart unavailable for the Sunday on Father’s Day duties, Lockwood was subbed in late in the day and acquitted himself very well in the Mitre 10 Trade Racing Holden. With the slightly ‘larger-framed’ Huggi sitting out the weekend, the team had to find some ballast very quickly after practice to get Matt out racing, but they managed it and he got stuck in with the gusto everyone expected from one of the country’s top up and coming touring car racers. “Seat time is very important to me right now as I am racing the V8 SuperTourer enduros with Craig Baird and I haven’t been in a car for quite a few months, so it’s really neat to be back in the UDC V8 Utes with all of the focus and precision that they require to go quickly.” Fourth overall for the weekend was a great result for Matt and the team.
Fifth for the weekend was Jeff Kernohan – impressive given he had a trip into the wall after Turn 11 in Race 2 on Sunday morning. With little damage done, he recovered under the safety car and was able to grab some points after a great drive. Father Dave struggled with some steering issues over the weekend, but he too showed real flashes of pace in the second family team Ford Falcon.
Matt Gibson finished sixth overall on his category debut after subbing for Hamish Cross in the BNT-backed Ford Falcon, smiling from ear to ear throughout the weekend and getting faster all the time as he mastered the tricks and skills of making the ute go fast. Geoff Spencer finished seventh, with Brett Rudd eighth in the Pallet Supplies Holden and Aussie ute expert Rod Dawson ninth after some pre-event electrical issues delayed his progress in the early part of the weekend. Series marketing manager Richard Gee made his V8 and category debut and kept his nose clean with four race finishes to finish 10th. Ward, Dave Kernohan and Peter Robb rounded out the field.
The weekend though, was all about Walton in the Multispares Ford Falcon. “Pukekohe was a lot of fun earlier in the season at the V8 Supercar round, but really I have to say a big thank you to Multispares first and foremost for giving me the opportunity to race at Taupo,” he said.
“The Ute was great all weekend and we were able to get into the groove quickly and get some great speed out of it. I stuffed up in the first race but hopefully put that all right on Sunday. The only problem was that coming down from Australia it was way, way too cold!”
The UDC NZ V8 Utes will be back at Hampton Downs for Round 5 on October 19 and 20 – which will also be the second round of the BNT V8 SuperTourers’ enduro series.
