Richards Responds to Ever Improving Fogg But Short Hits Pay Dirt!
by Tony Bunyan 

Jason Richards didn't let hard luck in qualifying deter him from scoring his fourth consecutive win in the MRNZ 2000 Wynns New Zealand 2.0 litre Touring Car Summer Championship at Pukekohe Raceway in Auckland on Saturday afternoon.

Angus Fogg who took the qualifying pole made a tentative start and was in danger of being overhauled by Barrie Thomlinson's Lexus IS200 and Kevin Bell in the second International Motorsport BMW 320i. However by the swift back straight Fogg had pulled ahead leaving Thomlinson and Bell to fight for second position.

A Familiar Battle All Weekend - Richards Chases Fogg

By the hairpin the pair were neck and neck, neither driver prepared to concede territory. As the cars diced under the Ripples bridge and up onto John Deere Mountain Bell, who was on the inside, ran wide collecting Thomlinson's car and sending the Lexus into the barrier and out of the race.

An infuriated Thomlinson fumed , "It was ridiculous for him [Bell] to try and over take there". A heavy fine was imposed on Bell including a $500.00 fine, exclusion from the race and his license endorsed for four months. International Motorsport unsuccessfully protested the punishment.

	Short's crew did a great job overnight to repair the Lexus. Unfortunately when the car was taken out for testing on Sunday morning,they found it had jammed in first gear due to undiagnosed gear selector damage.
Thomlinson's Lexus IS 200 looked decidedly second hand on its return to the pit garage

In the meantime Richards had been working hard to make his way from the back of the grid up through the pack and onto Fogg's tail. Pressure through the Esses paid off for Richards on lap seven and he took the lead to beat Fogg to the line by 0.6 seconds.

Sunday's first race was held in dry overcast conditions. By virtue of his lap times in Saturdays race Richards elevated himself on to the front row of the grid with Fogg. Missing was the damaged Lexus for want of a gearbox. Peter Van Breugel in the Pit Stop Super Production Nissan Primera had made a giant leap forward since Taupo and although the car might have smaller wheels and more weight, he gave fans a glimpses of the cars potential. He was not going to be easy to pass.

Fogg made a great start off the line to lead Richards, van Breugel and Short in the Collingwood Ford Telstar round the sweeper and through the Esses. While Fogg and Richards battled at the front, a gaggle of cars jostled for position behind them. In addition to the battle between Short and van Breugel, Aaron Harris in the recently refitted BMW 320 coupe, Rhys McKay who has returned after a nasty accident in the LK Drivesafe 500 and Kevin Bell fought an exciting race for position and points. In the 1600 cc Class defending champion Ted Jarvis had his work cut out for him as new comer Grant Ryan in the Honda Civic pressed his car into the lead.

Again it was Richards relentless pressure that paid dividends and he passed Fogg to take another win and maintain an unbeaten record.

Weather played a significant part in Sunday's second race. Heavy showers sweep across the Pukekohe circuit prior to the last touring car race of the day. There were significant patches of wet track, but it was anyone's guess whether the heavens would open during the race and cool tyres if teams opted for wet weather tyres. While Richards and Fogg both decided to fit full wets and Jody Vincent in the Nissan Sentra SSS chose slicks, Geoff Short put a dollar each way. Short put intermediates on the front wheel drive Telstar and wets on the back.

It was Fogg who again made the best start to lead the pack onto the back straight for the first time. From the start Richards was finding it difficult to get grip and his four wheel drifts through the sweeper were spectacular. The pair diced for lap after lap but Richards could not get past Fogg who was putting up a gritty drive in difficult conditions. Short had broken away from the bunch and sat on the tail of the leading duo. Aaron Harris had been making steady progress all weekend and he eventually got the best of van Breugel and Bell to promote him into fourth position.

Short now had Fogg in his gun sights. Incredibly Fogg lost traction at the hairpin and had to make a dash across the grass, giving Short the run to the lead. Neither Fogg nor Richards could respond and Short went on to record his first and most deserved win of his Touring Car career!

There was little Short had to say after the race, but the grin that ran from ear to ear said it all. A number of teams can be justifiably happy with their performances over the weekend. It certainly wasn't a BMW dominated weekend as it had been in Taupo. While Richards is clearly the championship favorite, the steadily improving Fogg, Short, Thomlinson, van Breugel and Harris are set to give him a run for his money at Manfield.