A fifth year on the bill for the V8 Supercars and an opening round at the fabulous new Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell are the highlights of the six round 2014 UDC New Zealand V8 Utes championship calendar announced today.
In 2014 the V8 Supercar round at Pukekohe will be a championship round for the UDC V8 Utes, and it will visit the historic circuit three times during the season, with the series finale being held at the track as the main support class for the SuperTourer season closer. The series will also visit Taupo for the Fathers’ Day 400 meeting and will head to the South Island again in November. Series Managing Director Paul Isaac is excited to have both Highlands and Supercars on the calendar, commenting;
“This year the Supercar round was a non-championship event but in 2014 it will form a points scoring round of the UDC V8 Utes championship and this is great news for our corporate partners, our drivers and their own corporate partners. It’s the biggest motorsport event in New Zealand by far during the motorsport year and a real spectacle. We are delighted to be back once again. Highlands in January is equally as mouth-watering – it’s a world class facility and our drivers have been keen to go racing on it since it opened for business. They don’t have much longer to wait fortunately!”
Australian drivers have been much in evidence in the UDC V8 Utes this past season with Kris Walton, Rod Dawson, David Ling and Chris Berry all competing at some stage. More Australian racers are expected to compete regularly in 2014 and this will push up V8 Ute numbers in the domestic New Zealand series. Fifteen or more V8 Ford and Holden utes will line up for the first round at Highlands as the series continues to grow in its role as the main support category for the BNT V8 SuperTourers, and as a main feeder category for all senior V8 racing series in New Zealand and Australia.
2014 CALENDAR
Round 1 – January 25/26 – Highlands Motorsport Park, Cromwell, South Island
Round 2 – March 22/23 – Pukekohe, Auckland
Round 3 – April 24/27 – V8 Supercars, Pukekohe, Auckland
Round 4 – September 6/7 – Father’s Day 400 Taupo
Round 5 – November 1/2 – South Island (track venue TBA)
Round 6 – November 28/29/30 – Pukekohe 500, Auckland
