Last weekend Jason Bargwanna was the chief judge for V8 Supercars; this weekend he could be the one being judged in the New Zealand V8 Touring Car races at Taupo.
However it is unlikely that Bargwanna, who leads the championship, will fall foul of the Kiwi officials as he has a reputation of being a forceful but clean driver – which is acknowledged by his main rival, Cambridge driver Nick Ross.
The Australian’s Toyota Camry and the Kiwi’s Holden Commodore have made light contact several times this season but that has not caused any crashes and afterwards both have been happy that the racing has been hard but fair, Bargwanna citing the old maxim that “rubbing is racing”.
At Adelaide last weekend Bargwanna took on the difficult role of driving standards observer for V8 Supercars, having to adjudicate on the fine line between a little contact and a move that gains an unfair advantage or causes a crash.
“In the control room we have about 18 screens and there’s four stewards recording everything,” he said. “There’s 25 cars and battles right down through the field.
“I take advice from the stewards but the final decision is mine. It’s a challenge.”
At the end of the meeting no one was complaining vociferously about his decisions, so he felt he had done a good job.
Bargwanna goes to the penultimate round of the championship with a 64-point lead over Ross, with each having had one non-finish so far. With a victory earning 75 points, Bargwanna knows he cannot afford another non-finish but he is determined to press on.
“The last two meetings, Timaru and Manfeild, we’ve just gone out there to win the races and we’ve had two clean sweeps,” he said. “The car has been improving all the time.”
His team-mate AJ Lauder will not be contesting this round as his team has not finished repairing the car after its big crash at Manfeild.
While Bargwanna and Ross fight out the TLX category for the new-generation cars, a tight battle has developed in the TL category for the original-specification machinery.
Hamilton’s Ian Booth, who is the series chairman, has a slim 21-point lead over 17-year-old Turua driver Brad Lauder, AJ’s younger brother. James McLaughlin from Lower Hutt is just seven points further back, with Lauder campaigning a Ford Falcon against the Holden Commodores of his two main rivals.
Booth, whose son Matthew lies seventh in the championship, has won only one race but has consistently scored high finishes, while McLaughlin has several victories to his credit but has also encountered mechanical problems. Lauder, second in the championship last season behind his brother, made a slow start to the series but has charged to the front in recent meetings.
The NZ Formula Ford championship concludes at this meeting and only disaster will stop Invercargill rookie Jamie Conroy from taking the title, as he has won all but two races this season and leads Christchurch driver Michael Collins by 97 points.
However Conroy might not have things all his own way as he has not seen the tricky Taupo circuit before and he can expect to be challenged by rising young drivers like Aaron Marr from Wanganui and Ryan Yardley from Christchurch as well as Collins.
Born-again racer Jamie McNee from Wellington leads the new championship for the Toyota Finance 86 coupes by 79 points from Christchurch driver Tom Alexander.
McNee, who took a three-year break from racing after competing with success in Formula Ford and the Toyota Racing Series, has been quick and consistent but with a field of hungry young drivers all in identical cars he faces stiff competition from Alexander and Aucklanders Callum Quinn, Ashley Blewett and Matt Gibson.
The more experienced Andrew Waite, also from Auckland, won the third round of the championship and has looked very fast, but as he missed the first two rounds he is not in championship contention.
Saturday sees qualifying and one race for each class, and Sunday brings two races for each class.
