Top New Zealand motor racing team International Motorsport has everything to fight for at the final round of the inaugural New Zealand V8 SuperTourers series in Christchurch this weekend.
Heading into the Mike Pero Real Estate 350 meeting at Powerbuilt Tools Raceway at Ruapuna Park, Jonny Reid in the #2 Ford Falcon is fourth overall in the driver points standings with an outside chance of taking the inaugural series title, while teammate Ant Pedersen, driving the J.A.Russell-backed #96 Falcon, is seventh overall and gunning for a spot in the top six.
This weekend’s round is the seventh of seven and third of three two-driver enduro-format events with two 53-lap races on Sunday.
Reid is again joined by US-based Indycar driver Wade Cunningham this weekend, but replacing US-based sportscar specialist Matt Halliday – who is facing shoulder surgery – in Pedersen’s J.A.Russell Ltd Falcon is Australian Porsche and V8 Supercar ace Alex Davison.
Cunningham’s younger brother, former kart and Toyota Racing Series champion Mitch, has also joined International Motorsport’s V8 SuperTourer squad for the enduro rounds, and will again he sharing his Windward Properties-backed ex-Knight Motorsport Falcon with Sydney-based former V8 Supercar regular Dean Canto.
Both Reid and Pedersen have won V8 SuperTourer series races, Pedersen at the opening series round at Hampton Down in February and Reid at the third round at Manfeild in April.
Reid says the memory of his two-race haul at the Manawatu circuit is still fresh in his mind and it’s that spark, he says, that he will be looking to re-ignite this weekend.
“Now, obviously, it is quite a challenge (to win the inaugural V8 SuperTourers NZ title) but we’re still in the hunt and while we are I can guarantee that I will be putting absolutely everything into it until I see that final chequered flag.”
As will Ant Pedersen who says he couldn’t wish for a better replacement co-driver than Alex Davison.
“I’m disappointed for Matt, and very grateful for the efforts he put into our campaign, but at the same time I’m happy to have Alex on board this weekend. He’s quick and he’s got a lot of experience in these style of cars.”
This weekend’s race format sees both two-driver 53-lap endurance races run on Sunday. Pedersen will be just as busy on Saturday however, when he shares a Porsche GT3 Cup car in the final three-hour South Island Endurance Series round of the season with former International Motorsport squad member Andrew Bagnall.
Mitch Cunningham, meanwhile, is happy just to have another race meeting to go to, after a late series arrival at the first endurance round at Taupo. Like his older brother Wade, Mitch made a seamless transition from karts – where he raced at world championship level in Europe – to cars, winning the Toyota Racing Series in 2009 before making the move to tin-tops in the local Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge championship series.
However, when the Challenge series finished he was left without a viable local alternative until the V8 SuperTourer series – and more specifically the opportunity to purchase the Knight Motorsport car – came along.
With only two rounds under his belt it is early days yet but Cunningham says there’s a lot to like, both about the car and the series.
“We’ve still got a lot to learn about the car but Dean has been a great help. The racing itself is great, closer even than what it was in the GT3 Cup class and with something like a second between the fastest and slowest qualifiers at Pukekohe it reminds me of what it used to be like in karts.”
It’s been a massive undertaking for International Motorpsort, building two brand new cars then running them, and another in the inaugural V8 Supercar NZ Series. And Nick Williamson says that everyone involved in the bold new initiative deserves a pat on the back.
“From an idea to a fully functioning, fan-friendly series with a distinct local look and feel in less than – what? – 18 months. That’s got to be something we can all be proud of. Also from our perspective, for both Ant and Jonny to win races at the first three rounds, we could hardly have wished for a better start.”
V8 SuperTourer NZ action begins on Saturday at Powerbuilt Tools Raceway with practice sessions in the morning and qualifying in the afternoon. Sunday is race day with the first 53-lap race due to start at 11.25 and the final due to start at 3.20pm and finish at around 4.45pm.
You can follow the progress of the International Motorsport pairings of Jonny Reid and Wade Cunningham, Ant Pedersen and Alex Davison, and Mitch Cunningham and Dean Canto on International Motorsport’s website (www.internationalmotorsport.co.nz) or on the team’s facebook page.
