NZTC Championship 2000/01

PRESS RELEASE #2
24th October 2000

KIWI INVASION FOR 2000/2001 NEW ZEALAND TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP

Team Kiwi will make its debut into the New Zealand Touring Car Championship via their entry in the 2000 Liquor King Drivesafe 500 endurance race. It will be a big test for the team who have high expectations not only for the 2.0 litre New Zealand Championship, but also the Australian V8 Supercar series.

Jason Richards comes fresh from International Motorsport, twice winning the 2.0 litre Championship for the BMW team. He teams up for the Liquor King Drivesafe 500 and the Bathurst V8 Supercar race with his main rival last year, Angus Fogg. Joining them in the second Nissan Primera for the LK Drivesafe 500 are Transam pilots Mark Porter and Ian Spurle.

Both drivers harbour complimentary strengths. Fogg is a race engineer and has been charged with construction of the team's two Nissan Primeras. He also has extensive experience in front wheel drive cars, having campaigned Minis and of late, the ex Bart Simpson Nissan Bluebird. Fogg harried Richards all last season and came close to an upset championship win.

Richards on the other hand is the pure breed race car driver. He was promoted to the International Motorsports E36 BMW with the departure of Craig Baird to the British Touring Car Series in 1997. Not the easiest of cars to drive, his smooth mature driving style took him to two NZTC Championships. With the Bathurst V8 drive looming, Richards has the advantage of having competed there twice all ready. In a BMW Super Tourer with Brett Riley and in a New Zealand Schedule S BMW with Barrie Thomlinson. By comparison Fogg has never raced at Bathurst and his racing experience has been almost exclusively front wheel drive.

Before undertaking a complete rebuild Team Kiwi took the ex Peter van Breugel built Nissan Primera out testing. While no one in the team is prepared to say, Richards was on the pace early and appeared to be the quicker of the two drivers. "I have no problem with front wheel drive. In some ways its an easier car to drive than the BMW. And its quick. We'll be giving the rest of the field a real run for their money", Richards remarked.

Martin Collins is the other major strength in the David Johns Team Kiwi camp. Collins moved to Team Kiwi in April this year after a long spell as Crew Chief for Lyall Williamson's International Motorsport team. He's dedicated, calm under pressure and logical, with excellent organisational skills. Assets that Team Kiwi will need as "the new kids on the block."

It remains to be seen how their competitors will respond to the Team Kiwi threat. Williamson is calling on the driving talents of Touring Car Champion and two time Jim Clark Memorial Trophy winner Brett Riley and Formula Holden and N.Z. Grand Prix Champion Simon Wills to counter the challenge. With new cars on the way and the first real driver/team shake up in years, the 2000 New Zealand Touring Car Championship is hotting up to be the best show in town.

For more information contact:
Tony Bunyan
New Zealand Touring Car Website

Email editor@nztouringcars.co.nz
Website www.nztouringcars.co.nz