Ant Pedersen wants to be just one place higher in the 2014 BNT V8 SuperTourers championship, starting this weekend at the new Highlands circuit, than he was last year.

That one step would win the 25-year-old Hamilton accountant New Zealand’s top touring-car title – he finished the 2013 season a close second to Greg Murphy, and even in the last race he had good chances of seizing the title.

Pedersen and his Australian co-driver Chaz Mostert did win the endurance championship, staged within the overall series.
“I need to try and get that step further,” Pedersen said as he prepared for the Fuchs 250, first round of the Hankook Super Series which incorporates the BNT V8 SuperTourers.

“It was a tight finish last year and after that you really want to get that number one.”

Pedersen had been recognised as a good driver for some time but last year he surprised many as he established himself in the top tier, finishing ahead of full-time V8 Supercar drivers Shane Van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin.

“I’ve grown in confidence,” Pedersen said. “When you’re racing successfully with these guys, who do it full-time through the year in Australia, it gives you confidence that you can foot it with the best in this part of the world.”

Confidence was an essential ingredient for success in any sport, he reckoned.

He and the International Motorsport team have also learnt a lot about their sophisticated Ford Falcon and how to tune the suspension setup for each circuit and each set of conditions.

“We’ve become a lot more efficient than we used to be,” he said. “We’ve found a nice sweet spot in the setup and for each track we’ll just tune it a little bit here and there.

“The car is arguably one of the quickest.”

Pedersen has the benefit of experience on the new track near Cromwell in Central Otago, as he raced a Porsche in the inaugural meeting there late last year, and he is greatly impressed.

“It’s world-class, it’s got fantastic facilities,” he said. “It’s certainly a challenging circuit – if you don’t respect it, it’s going to bite you pretty hard.”

He was pleased that minor alterations to two parts of the circuit would increase overtaking opportunities.

Murphy would again be his closest rival, Pedersen said, but he was expecting stern competition from several other drivers including young Wellingtonian Richard Moore, who finished fourth in the 2013 championship.

Meanwhile two stalwarts of V8 racing in New Zealand, John McIntyre and Paul Manuell, have decided to hand their cars over to younger drivers.

Nelson-based McIntyre, who won three NZV8 championships and the 2012 BNT V8 SuperTourers sprint title, is putting young Aucklander Mark Gibson (originally from Taupo) in his Falcon for the four-round sprint series and will join him for the three endurance rounds.

Pukekohe driver Manuell, also a former NZV8 champion, will have his Holden Commodore piloted by young Australian Morgan Haber, who has been racing in the V8 Supercars Development Series. Manuell will also take part in the endurance events.

V8 SuperTourers have confirmed a new major series sponsorship deal with BNT which installs the national automotive parts distributor as the naming-rights sponsor of the BNT V8 SuperTourers for the next three years.

BNT is a significant supplier of a wide range of automotive parts, accessories and engineering supplies to trade customers throughout New Zealand. The company has been involved in motorsport in New Zealand for over 25 years.

“The BNT V8 SuperTourers is growing from strength to strength and we have seen great return in terms of brand awareness and sponsor benefits,” BNT Sales and Marketing Manager John Pollard said. “The Series is gaining popularity with fans, viewers, drivers and sponsors, so it made absolute sense for BNT to commit long term to the Series.”