[ Summary | First Qualifying | Second Qualifying | Race 1 | Race 2 ]

Round 5

Manfeild, Fielding

10th & 11th January 1998

Summary

Any suggestion that there were "team orders" in the BMW Motorsport team were well and truly put to rest at the Manfeild Autocourse over the weekend as Championship leader Brett Riley in the Castrol BMW 320i and Jason Richards in the BNT BMW 320i picked up where they left off at Ruapuna Park the previous weekend. After being disappointed with his performance at Ruapuna Richards was determined not to let what he described as avoidable errors spoil his chances of beating championship leader and team mate Brett Riley. He achieved his goal with some blindingly fast starts and consistent performances to win both races and keep his championship hopes alive. Brett Riley holds all the lap records for Touring Cars around Manfield and it might have been possible for him to take an unassailable lead in the New Zealand Touring Car Championship at the Manfeild Meeting. However, the car looked "twitchy" all weekend and his second and third placing was not enough to secure the championship.

Ross Heffernan made a barnstorming return in the Wilkinson Insurance Toyota Corona, having sorted out the misfiring problems which had disrupted his plans to contest the championship. Heffernan was immediately on the pace at Manfeild and created all sorts of problems for BMW spoiling a Richards/Riley one two finish in the second race. All bodes well for the ex-factory Toyota in the final round of the championship at Pukekohe, the car perfectly suited to its long straights.

Peter van Brugel qualified well, again battling with Barrie Thomlinson for championship points in the first race, but mechanical problems in the second race saw him finish in the middle of the field. Thomlinson spent much of the meeting trying to find a setup that would improve the handling and performance of the replacement F1 Cars Ford Telstar he has begun campaigning in the second half of season. Back on his home turf in Auckland and another week of testing could see Thomlinson return to his earlier form this season. Handling problems dogged the Collingwood Ford Telstar of Geoff Short, Geoff commenting to one commentator that it was like driving a waterbed!

In the first race Robbie Ker suffered a mechanical problem, the suspension on his car collapsing when a ball joint/wishbone broke on the first lap of the first race, hitting Geoff Short and coming to rest on the ripple strip at the top of the main straight. As a result the pace car came out onto the track, closing up the field and giving the rest of the field an opportunity to catch up with Richards who had made a healthy break.

In the 1600 cc and under touring cars, Mike Eady returned to make a clean sweep of both qualifying and races. The result gives him an unassailable lead for Class honours, placing him 25 points ahead of his rivals. The incredible reliability of Philip Colvin's Suzuki came unstuck when the car struck gear selection problems, culminating in a DNF (Did Not Finish) in the second race of the day.

Qualifying

First Qualifying - Session started at 11:30 am

The weather for qualifying on Saturday 10th January was bright. There was an average air temperature of 16 degrees Celsius with patches of cloud and a strong cold south-westerly wind. Plenty of attention was focused on Ross Heffernan in the Wilkinson Insurance Toyota Corona 2.0 because of the quick times he had posted in practice the previous day. There was no evidence of the frustrating misfire that had plagued the car in the first round of the championship and which had ruined Heffernan's plans for an all out assault on the Touring Car Championship.

No.	Driver	Car	Best Lap Time	KPH
2	Jason Richards	BMW 320i 1991cc	01:16.49	142.75
1	Brett Riley	BMW 320i 1991cc	01:17.02	141.77
6	Ross Heffernan	Toyota Corona 2.0	01:17.44	141.00
3	Peter van Brugel	Nissan Sentra SSS	01:17.74	140.45
7	Barrie Thomlinson	Ford Telstar 2000cc	01:18.54	139.02
18	Robbie Ker	Toyota Corona 2.0	01:18.76	138.63
10	Grant Aitken	Suzuki Baleno 1840cc	01:21.29	134.32
12	Geoff Short	Ford Telstar 2000cc	01:22.45	132.43
91	Mike Eady	Toyota Corolla GTi 1600cc	01:24.51	129.20
81	Ted Jarvis	Toyota Corolla GTi 1600cc	01:26.19	126.68
84	Shayne Lawrey	Peugeot 106 1300cc	01:27.51	124.77
37	Philip Colvin	Suzuki Swift 1298cc	01:27.57	124.69
14	Dean Mildenhall	Nissan Sentra GT 1600cc	01:28.64	123.18
30	Wayne Moore	Nissan Sentra 1596cc	01:29.02	122.66
38	Glenn Collins	Nissan Sentra GT 1600cc	01:30.04	121.27

However, it was the ever improving Jason Richards in the BNT BMW 320i who came out to blitz the field with the only time below the 1:17.00 mark. His team mate and championship leader, Brett Riley didn't appear as comfortable with his set up and there was the occasional uncharacteristic puffs of tyre smoke from the Castrol BMW 320i. Riley still managed to post the second fastest time, but a full half a second off Richards blistering pace. As expected, Ross Heffernan was quick, placing him third on he grid but almost one second off pole and unable to split the BMWs, who have dominated all season. Peter van Brugel in the  Beaurepaires Nissan Sentra SSS slotted into fourth, with privateer points leader Barrie Thomlinson rounding out the top five places.

Second Qualifying - Session started at 2.15 pm

The wind had increased in the afternoon session and consequently the track temperature was a little cooler. Because the second session carried championship points, more importance was placed on it by those drivers battling for the championship. Once again the BMWs set the pace, with the changes that Brett Riley had made to his car between sessions clearly improving his performance and it was Riley who posted the fastest time, 0.02 seconds ahead of Richards in the second BMW. Peter van Brugel's appearance on the track was short but effective, setting a time of 01:18.34 seconds in the Nissan Sentra SSS to collect points ahead of his championship rival Barrie Thomlinson in the Ford Telstar who posted a time almost a second off van Brugel.

No.	Driver	Car	Best Lap Time	KPH
1	Brett Riley	BMW 320i 1991cc	01:17.34	141.18
2	Jason Richards	BMW 320i 1991cc	01:17.50	140.89
3	Peter van Brugel	Nissan Sentra SSS	01:18.34	139.38
6	Ross Heffernan	Toyota Corona 2.0	01:19.13	137.99
7	Barrie Thomlinson	Ford Telstar 2000cc	01:19.17	137.92
18	Robbie Ker	Toyota Corona 2.0	01:19.45	137.43
12	Geoff Short	Ford Telstar 2000cc	01:20.93	134.92
10	Grant Aitken	Suzuki Baleno 1840cc	01:21.98	133.19
91	Mike Eady	Toyota Corolla GTi 1600cc	01:24.63	129.02
37	Philip Colvin	Suzuki Swift 1298cc	01:26.41	126.36
81	Ted Jarvis	Toyota Corolla GTi 1600cc	01:27.03	125.46
84	Shayne Lawrey	Peugeot 106 1300cc	01:28.08	123.96
14	Dean Mildenhall	Nissan Sentra GT 1600cc	01:28.63	123.20
38	Glenn Collins	Nissan Sentra GT 1600cc	01:29.71	121.71
30	Wayne Moore	Nissan Sentra 1596cc	01:29.81	121.58

To add intrigue to race strategies, Sunday's longer 18 lap second race would see a reverse grid for the top six cars. Because he is not in contention for the New Zealand Touring Car Championship, Ross Heffernan was probably more interested in placing himself as far ahead of the BMWs on the grid as possible and this might go some way to explaining his less competitive time in the second session. Barrie Thomlinson has had little development time in the Nigel Arkell Ford Telstar he has campaigned in the second half of the session. However, there has been a steady improvement in the car's performance between Ruapuna and Mansfield placing him fifth on the grid. With the return of the Touring Cars to the North Island, Wellingtonian and Touring Car President Robbie Ker attended the meeting to post the sixth fastest time.

Full Race Report

Race One

Sunday 11th January was overcast with a cool moderate southwesterly wind and a possible threat of rain. Jason Richards in the BNT BMW 320i had qualified on pole, with team mate Brett Riley in the Castrol BMW 320i on the front row with him. Ross Heffernan and Peter van Brugel sat on the second row, with Barrie Thomlinson and Robbie Ker making up the top six positions.

Richards got away to a clean fast start, providing room for Riley to dart to the inside of the track behind him and impede the progress of Heffernan. Peter van Brugel made a charge down the outside of the bunch, with Thomlinson first moving through behind Heffernan and then into a position sandwiched between van Brugel and Heffernan as they entered the Central Power corner for the first time. As they exited Richards had two and a half lengths on Riley, with Heffernan in third. Heffernan unfazed, probed for a way past Riley who's car did not look as stable as it had at the earlier Mansfield meeting. In a beautifully executed move Heffernan slipped past Riley into second as the cars entered the Castrol bends.

The best racing was taking place for second spot, with Riley coming back at Heffernan at Higgins, moving up on the inside only to have the Toyota Corona driver close the door on him as they headed down towards the Sail & Anchor hairpin. Packed closely behind these two were Peter van Brugel in the Nissan Sentra SSS and Barrie Thomlinson in the Ford Telstar.

As the cars raced down the main straight and into Central Power, Riley had a look up the inside of Heffernan, but caution prevailed, with Heffernan exiting faster to retain second position and Riley slipping back into the jaws of Peter van Brugel. In the meantime Robbie Ker had suffered a mechanical defect and had been forced to a halt on the ripple strip at the top of the start/finish straight. Geoff Short was also an unfortunate victim as Ker collected him and spun his car around. Due to the danger of recovering the car from this position, the pace car pulled out onto the track and the field closed up behind Richards who's healthy buffer over Heffernan and Riley had come to nothing.

It also lead to the main controversy of the day. The rule book clearly states that the pace car's lights must be off before it can be passed and racing can resume. However, confusion over the restart occurred as the pace car pulled well to the left of the track and waved the cars by. It had not however turned its flashing lights off. Not unreasonably Richards interpreted these mixed messages as meaning that the race was about to restart and he was followed past the pace car by Heffernan, Riley, van Brugel and Thomlinson. Although later spoken to by officials, no one was penalised. One must wonder what portion of the responsibility and blame for the incident should have been taken by officials.

Still under yellow, the cars circulated around the track for a further lap until they got the green with six laps to go. Again Riley charged on Heffernan on the inside at Central Power and down the outside at Goodyear, acutely aware that with the field bunched up it was his best chance at an assault on the lead. A huge plume of tyre smoke indicated that the manouver was not going to stick.

Finally at the beginning of lap seven having hugged Heffernan down the main straight, Riley braked very late to dive to the inside of the corner past the Toyota. Riley, who is currently the championship leader then set his sights on Richards. He was able to close up on Richards under braking, but Richards was able to strench out a little on the faster parts of the circuit. In the finish Richards crossed the line for the win, Riley taking second with a 2.5 second gap back to Heffernan, then van Brugel, Thomlinson and Grant Aitken rounding out the top six places.

Results - Race 1 (10 Laps)

No.	Driver	Car	Best Lap Time	KPH
2	Jason Richards	BMW 320i 1991cc	01:17.23	141.38
1	Brett Riley	BMW 320i 1991cc	01:17.30	141.25
6	Ross Heffernan	Toyota Corona 2.0	01:17.71	140.51
3	Peter van Brugel	Nissan Sentra SSS	01:17.12	141.58
7	Barrie Thomlinson	Ford Telstar 2000cc	01:18.06	139.88
10	Grant Aitken	Suzuki Baleno 1840cc	01:21.16	134.53
12	Geoff Short	Ford Telstar 2000cc	01:18.34	139.38
91	Mike Eady	Toyota Corolla GTi 1600cc	01:25.48	127.74
37	Philip Colvin	Suzuki Swift 1298cc	01:25.86	127.17
81	Ted Jarvis	Toyota Corolla GTi 1600cc	01:27.00	125.50
14	Dean Mildenhall	Nissan Sentra GT 1600cc	01:24.85	128.68
84	Shayne Lawrey	Peugeot 106 1300cc	01:28.10	123.94
38	Glenn Collins	Nissan Sentra GT 1600cc	01:28.52	123.35
30	Wayne Moore	Nissan Sentra 1596cc	01:30.09	121.20
18	Robbie Ker	Toyota Corona 2.0		DNF

Race Two

The second race of the day organised the six fastest cars into a reverse grid. Geoff Short was on pole with Barrie Thomlinson sitting on the front row of the grid with him. On the second row were the Toyota Corona of Ross Heffernan and the Nissan Sentra SSS of Peter van Brugel. The BMW pair of Brett Riley and Jason Richards were on the third row, Richards with the inside line.

Jason Richards continues to impress with his fantastic starts. This race was no exception, charging up the inside by the grass, the gaps opening before him to pass both Heffernan and Short before challenging Thomlinson going into Central Power corner. Thomlinson was caught a little wide and couldn't find the drive to resist Richards's charge. Heffernan chose to go around Short on the outside and these two drove side by side through the corner and into the Esses, Heffernan taking the inside line to emerge in front of him.

At the start Brett Riley had initially moved to the inside to follow Richards through, but instead held back as the cars in front of him became increasingly short of space. Peter van Brugel made an excellent start, taking Heffernan's route up the outside before attempting to dive to the inside and squeeze between Riley and Short. However, Riley closed the gap and the Nissan and BMW drove side by side through Central Power corner.

Richards is the only driver with a realistic chance of pegging back the points lead his team mate Brett Riley has in the New Zealand Touring Car Championship. His inspired start placed three cars between him and Riley. It was now up to Riley to peg back his advantage. By the Goodyear hairpin Riley had propelled himself past Short. Peter van Brugel also put Short behind him and then dragged the Castrol BMW 320i up the Denis Hulme straightaway, Riley only holding the Nissan Sentra SSS off as they went into Higgins because he had the better line into the corner.

As the cars pasted the start/finish line for the first time, Heffernan's Toyota showed it's pace as it streaked past Thomlinson's Ford Telstar under breaking going into Central Power corner. There was a puff of blue from Heffernan's tyres, but he made the manouvre stick as he set off in pursuit of Richards who by now had developed a healthy lead. Peter van Brugel again put Riley under pressure at Higgins, closing up on him under braking. The only other change in order was Robbie Ker getting past the Ford Telstar of Geoff Short.

Unfortunately van Brugel suffered mechanical problems on lap three and the front bunch of Richards, Heffernan, Thomlinson and Riley put a break on the rest of the field. Riley was now able to concentrate on getting past Thomlinson and the pair diced intensively for lap after lap.

Amongst the under 1600 cc Mike Eady and Philip Colvin were immersed in their own battle. Colvin had gone into the race knowing he would suffer due to a gear selection problem and he was doing remarkably well to hold Eady off.

Finally on lap five Riley made his move on Thomlinson, positioned himself on the inside of the Ford Telstar as the pair jostled side by side down the main straight. Riley made it look easy as he braked late and exited the apex at Central Power to secure third spot. Richards now had a two second gap over Heffernan, with a further two seconds back to Riley. Peter van Brugel had drifted further back in the feild to be passed by Ker, Short and Aitken.

By lap seven Riley had caught Heffernan, placing the Toyota Corona driver under intense pressure. However, Heffernan had learnt his lession well and truely in Race One, covering himself at the bottom of the main straight where he and Thomlinson had fallen victim to Riley's late braking. He was not going to let Riley by easily and the pace of his car on the straights combined with the width of the Toyota Corona though the tight parts of the circuit were sufficient to hold Riley up.

In the end Heffernan was too busy with Riley to make any impression on Richards who's beautifully paced drive placed him nearly four seconds ahead of the Toyota Corona and Castrol BMW320i. Riley had to settle for third with Thomlinson and Ker rounding out the top five places. Philip Colvin's luck ran out, having to retire with mechanical problems.

Riley had hoped that he could wrap up the championship at Manfeild, but Richards's excellent performance all weekend will mean it will go to the wire in the final round at Pukekohe

Results - Race 2 (18 Laps)