NZ Touring Car Championship 2000

MANFIELD RACEWAY, FEILDING
Saturday 29th & Sunday 30th January 2000

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Qualifying - Richards Does It Again!
by Tony Bunyan

After the horror start to his Pukekohe meeting two weeks ago, Jason Richards in the International Motorsport BNT BMW 320i came out firing early in the dry, mild and overcast conditions of the first and only qualifying session for the NZ Touring Cars this morning. He clocked his pole setting time of 1m 16.58 on his first lap and headed back to pit lane shortly afterward. "I didn't want to get caught out by any mechanical hitches as we did at Pukekohe so I went out for an earlier run despite the traffic", a happy Richards commented.

Richards made Qualifying Look Easy

His closest rival, Angus Fogg, was unsure how the Lamont Contractors/Miniworks Nissan Bluebird would perform at Manfield. "Although we made good progress between Taupo and Pukekohe, we haven't had the luxury of any more development time to know how we'll go this weekend. It's more likely you'll notice a change when we return to Manfield in February", commented Fogg. Despite this, he clocked a 1m 16.64 to put him on the front row of the grid with Richards.

Ken Bell in the International Motorsport 320i will be joined on the second row of the grid by Peter Van Breugel in the Super Production Nissan Primera. Less than half a second separate these two and Aaron Harris and Peter Scharmach who recorded the fifth and sixth fastest times. Unfortunately engine failure may mean that Scharmach's Telstar may not be repaired in time for the first race, scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

Geoff Short made by his standards a slow start to his weekend, clocking seventh fastest time in the Lexus IS 200. The car did not sustain any significant structural damage, but the gearbox problems resulting from the Pukekohe race have continued to hinder the team. This in combination with a lack of track time at the Manfield circuit has made finding the right gear ratios difficult.

Ted Jarvis put himself at the sharp end of the 1600 cc cars, with Mark Roscoe snapping at his heels.

Like Pukekohe two classic battles are developing, with the championship leaders battling it out and a second group of cars battling for a podium finish.

Richards Extends Points Lead
by Tony Bunyan

Jason Richards in the International Motorsport BNT BMW 320i claimed another superb victory at Manfield on Saturday to extend his championship lead over nearest rivals, Angus Fogg and Geoff Short.

However the race results sheet doesn't reflect the tremendous battle he had on his hands, with Fogg swapping the lead with him several times to the delight of the Mini Seven fraternity!


Angus Fogg (left) and Peter Van Breugel (right) showed that they are as competitive as BMW and that Super Production racing is exciting - until luck failed them

The unpredictable weather that has characterized the last two championship meetings struck again with moderately heavy rain falling just prior to the race, with a warm drizzle to keep the track slippery. There was a flurry of activity immediately prior to the race as many teams changed from intermediates to slicks, delaying the start of the race.

As the cars left the line Richards lost traction as he drove over the newly painted "Manfield" on the start/finish line. Team mate Kevin Bell who had made a strong start from the second row of the grid gave him a solid tap from behind, neither car sustaining serious damage.

Aaron Harris's BMW 320 Coupe in its new Livery

Angus Fogg capitalised on this to move into the lead. Peter Van Breugel made a great start to slot into third in the Super Production Pitstop Nissan Primera. A tremendous effort in a car that is still at a disadvantage to the Schedule S cars. Rookie Jody Vincent in the Nissan Sentra SSS also made a great start. His fourth position, well ahead of Harris, Short and Bell shows just how committed and talented the new comer is!

The race leaders changed positions several times, with the Lamont Contractors/Miniworks Nissan Bluebird appearing to have more speed down the long Deni Hulme straight, while the BNT BMW was more agile through the turns. Midway thorough the race Fogg's hopes of his first win faded when wheel bearing damage slowed his pace. A similar fate was in store for Peter Van Breugel lost engine power and retired.

In the mean time Kevin Bell had been battling his way back through the pack after losing time in the incident off the start line, to pass the crippled Fogg and rookie Vincent to move into second place.

Richards made it an easy and well deserved win in the finish, with the outstanding drive of the race coming from newcomer Jody Vincent who drove the wheels off his Nissan to take third place.

The rain that had been threating to fall all morning finally came down in buckets moments before the New Zealand Touring Cars first race on Sunday. The race was delayed by half an hour firstly to allow the cars to change to full wet weather tyres and then again to allow officials to drain surface water off the racing line.

When the starter finally let them go it was Richards who made the better start to lead them through the sweeper at the bottom o f the main straight. Fogg was second with Kevin Bell completing a BMW sandwich.

Streaming through the sweeper for the first time it was Van Breugel who was pressured Peter Scharmach in the Short prepared Ford Telstar. How Van Breugal could see down the Deni Hulme straight was a mystery, the rain so heavy that the the huge plumbs of water spray shooting off the tails of the cars were more reminiscent of jet boats than race cars.

Jason Richards Didn't Let the Rain Affect his Spirits

While Richards continued to extend his lead in the appauling conditions, Bell consolidated his third position and the Van Breugel/Scharmach battle continued. Desperate to put some distance between him and the Primera,Scharmach miraculously recovered from a trip across the grass at the top of the main straight to fend the Super Production car off. It wasn't enough and Van Breugel passed him in a well executed move to slot into fourth position.

Scharmach responded on the next lap, leaving his braking on the front srtaight far too late, momentarily passing Van Breugel, but ending his race in the gravel as did Grant Ryan in the Honda Civic.

After the opening lap, Richards never looked threatened, extending his led over Fogg and Bell to continue his championship winning run!