Although Australian Ute Racing Rookie of the Year Kris ‘Killa’ Walton dominated the fourth round of the UDC NZ V8 Utes series at Taupo last time out, the championship is set to go down to the wire with just two rounds to go, at Hampton Downs this weekend and at Pukekohe Park at the end of November.
At Taupo, the Fords enjoyed a small handling advantage on the mid-field, at Hampton Downs it’s likely to be all square and at Pukekohe, the Holdens could have a slight edge.
Championship leader Chris ‘Hammer Time’ Hanley – off the ultimate pace of a mighty Kris ‘Killa’ Walton at Taupo – was in the right place at the right time to inherit 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 of Walton and it was always going to be a points chasing round for me,” he said. “We had a great weekend though and it was awesome to go racing at Taupo again in the Brother Holden. I was pretty stoked to have extended my series lead and am looking forward to the racing ahead at Hampton Downs.”
Hammer Time left the Taupo meeting with 450 points – which means he comes to the North Waikato this weekend 57 points ahead of his nearest rival – and he will start as the favourite for the spoils after dominating at the first round at Hampton earlier in the year.
His principle challengers Mike ‘Buzz’ Lightfoot and Peter ‘Kaos’ Ward had mixed weekends at Taupo. 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 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.
This weekend is a big one for Ward and he needs to score big points to stay in the title hunt. Lightfoot too, must make inroads into Hanley’s lead. Barring disaster at the final round for the championship leader however, a decent points haul this weekend should give him one hand on the series title.
Fourth placed Brett Rudd is also poised to pounce. A superb debut season in the UDC Utes puts him right in the mix if any of the guys ahead of him tip over this weekend or at Pukekohe.
David Ling – a veteran of three decades racing in Australia with sprint car and Commodore Cup experience – makes his UDC V8 Utes debut in Rod Dawson’s number 6 Ford Falcon while James ‘Huggi’ Urquart is back in the Mitre 10 Trade backed Holden. Matt Gibson also returns. He made his UDC NZ V8 Ute debut at Taupo and impressed in the BNT Ford, getting stuck into some hard racing and finishing an eventual sixth for the round. He could go even better at Hampton Downs, free of the pressure of fighting for a championship and the degree of conservatism that inevitably brings. Look out too for Geoff Spencer in his Holden and the Kernohans – Dave and Jeff, who will also be looking to build on a great Taupo weekend in their Fords.
